Say More Than Hello and Make a Difference

This week a person, whilst I was dog walking, asked me “how things were for me”. This was a different “How are you” changed by a couple of words. I was taken aback because I am rarely asked how I am – I normally do the asking.

So why did a couple of different words make an impact?

Purely because the person REALLY wanted to know how I was doing and wasn’t just passing the time of day. I was so touched by this person asking. It really makes all the difference. Some people go days without a proper conversation or someone really wanting to know how they are. Sometimes we don’t engage in conversation for fear we can’t solve another person’s problems but actually the most powerful gift you can give someone is to listen to them. Just listening.

When did you last ask someone how they really are? But not just chitchat?

Don’t just ask “How are you?” because we just automatically say “Yes great” or “Fine”.

Questions that can make a difference are

• How are things going?

• What’s going on for you?

• What have you been up to?

You can make a difference to another person just by having a conversation.

Say more than HELLO. And then just LISTEN to people.

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