Does That Make Sense? There I Go Again.
Steve, our VP of Sales, caught four words I use so often that I barely hear them anymore. I’m grateful he took the time to talk through what I could try on my next call.
I was catching up with Steve, our VP of Sales, after a call today. He pointed out something I say when I finish explaining, well, just about anything. If you’ve ever worked for me or sat through one of my trainings, I bet you can say the next four words right along with me.
“Does that make sense?”
The funny part is I’ve worked pretty hard to say it less. Which, if you’ve heard how often I still say it, gives you some idea of where I started.
I mean it when I ask. I want to know if I explained something well enough for the person on the other end to use it. Somewhere along the way, though, those four words became my version of a period. How’s anybody supposed to know I’m looking for an answer if that’s how I end every thought?
Steve and I talked about what I could do in that moment. For starters, I could just pause. Let somebody else have the floor. If I’ve walked a group through a process, I could ask, “Which part would you like to see again?” On a sales call, I might try, “Where would this get tricky for your team?” I’d learn something from either answer, provided I can keep my mouth shut long enough to hear it.
That’s one of the things I love about the people I work with. I’ll happily take a “good job.” But if an example I used helped somebody follow along, tell me that. Now I know to keep the example. And if you hear me doing something that gets in the way, tell me that, too. That conversation today gave me something I can try the very next time I’m on a call.
Thanks, Steve. And thanks to everyone who’s ever taken the time to tell me what it’s like on the other side of one of my explanations. I’m a better trainer for it.
