Editor note: This is a guest post from Armen Shirvanian from timeless information.
Communication with others almost always provides you with knowledge you didn’t have before the communication, unless the discussion is more like “small talk”. You have a certain mode of thinking in your mind, and others have their mode of thinking, and you each have your own past experiences, so talking with them only adds to what you now have. You can’t lose out when talking with someone, asking them a question, or so on.
Keep The Connection Going
You aren’t imposing to others, in most cases. People like you to be direct with your words, and are glad to have someone who cares to deal with them or work with them. I haven’t ever gotten a forthcoming e-mail from someone that left me feeling worse off than before I read it. Just as I like to work with the thoughts of others, others want to hear your thoughts and feedback.
Once you start talking to someone, there’s no need to disconnect from them. Sometimes, we talk with someone, and then “close up shop”, so to speak, making it awkward to talk to them again. This isn’t helpful, because your future self, who will be in physical form sooner than you know it, will then have some difficulty reconnecting with the same person.
There Are So Many People To Connect With
The opportunities to connect with people are endless, but you probably shouldn’t look at it that way. When we have a huge amount of choices, we actually have more difficult making a decision than when we have fewer choices, or when they are already made for us. Find a select group of people you would want to talk to first, and then pick a few from that group. You can always branch out more later.
In the same way that parents don’t understand that telling their children that “the opportunities are endless” doesn’t really help them, you want to limit your own view of potential relationships so that you speed up in making some. Also, you want to keep in mind that time is always limited, so the most casual of relationships might take up your time with little to show for them. There are people like you, and although you will eventually find them, as I think we all find the folks who are like us, you can speed that process up by targeting those who you seem to like or see as comfortable to approach.
When You Communicate Regularly, And With Many, You Win
Most don’t take the risk to talk to person A or person B. That is a loss, because person A or person B probably would like to talk to them. You find out some big mistake you have made after one minute of communication with someone who is doing the same thing the right way. Before the minute of talking, you were way off on something, and afterward, you know how to do it right. This happens all day long for people that stay in communications with folks at their level, and don’t hold back at the first feeling of doubt or insecurity.
It is in your hands to send an e-mail, call someone, meet someone at their house or place of business, or communicate with them in some alternate way. The person you think is least likely to care what you think might be excited to hear from you.
Armen Shirvanian writes words of wisdom about mindset, communication, relationships, and related topics at Timeless Information. You can follow him on Twitter at @Armen.