Yesterday evening I attended a joint alumni Iftar in Dubai. There were alumni from many top schools including Harvard, Colombia, Insead, LBS and my alma mater, LSE. The nature of the event was very informal, anyone could approach any table and introduce themselves. At one point an Emirati gentleman sat next to me and introduced himself…
The question “What do you do?” is never more than 5 minutes into a conversation in Dubai, and to my surprise this gentleman was into gaming and rare card collection and trading – something quite unique. He mentioned a game I had never heard of and I replied, “When I was a student I played D&D”. His face lit up, “I still play D&D!” he responded. It was one of those blindfolded bullseye’s – I have never mentioned D&D to anyone in well over a decade, it’s such a distant (but treasured) memory, and here I was in a passionate discussion about a topic that resonated like a long-lost friend.
WhatsApp details were exchanged, and I am sure we will meet again. The total communication lasted no more than 10 minutes, but a connection was made due to our chance finding of a strong commonality.
I have written about the importance of finding commonality in building rapport many times, and despite the prelude, this is not my main message of today’s blog. Before deciding to write about my Iftar encounter, I thought “should I be writing about commonality again?” which prompted a separate thought process around repeat messaging.
One of the common traits I have noticed that many successful people share is that they repeat their message constantly. Saying something once simply isn’t enough to get through to people who are too busy with their own priorities. You need to beat the drum constantly until the message gets through.
A good friend of mine made his fortune in bars and restaurants. I recall from day 1, whenever we met, he would talk about, and market his business. The newest menu additions, happy hour deals or upcoming locations. There was never a missed opportunity to promote his business.
There is a guy I am connected to on LinkedIn whom I knew from Hong Kong. He is a self-made (and self-professed) multi-millionaire, and his mission is to help people start their entrepreneurial journey. He approaches people on the street, challenges them to follow their dreams, and backs up the talk by investing in them. He documents this in videos and commentary and his message is consistent; “Have you ever considered starting a business? Follow your dream!” When I see his latest post, it’s normally a variation on a past post, but it doesn’t matter; he is delivering a consistent message which by repeat exposure, penetrates his target market.
On a macro scale, politicians take the same approach. Campaign financing is primarily used to buy media coverage and blanket advertising. By repeat exposure to a politician’s message, people start to believe there must be some truth in it.
So, should I have written about the importance of finding genuine commonality to build rapport again? Yes, because it’s something I believe in passionately and last night’s example was so prescient. The question for you to ask yourself today is “What is your message, and are you communicating it regularly, consistently and with passion?” You will find that most successful people do all three of these.
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