So today I was sitting in a class which was teaching a bunch of call center employees how to sell life insurance. I was sort of a special guest who got a seat by asking the management if I could sit in and observe their class structure, for learnings to apply to my own department. I've worked in life insurance for 15 years, but not a day in a call center. Through the years, I've found it surprisingly effective to build a relationship in a new group by shutting up, and listening enthusiastically. I recall scientific studies that demonstrated how affection between people developed simply by looking into each other's eyes for a period of time. Likewise, in a group of strangers, I'll frequently make a point of smiling as much as I can, nodding in affirmation with eye contact as others speak, and laughing heartily along with the group. It's all genuine, and perhaps as pure as can be - I feel positively about them, and have little of intelligence to say, so why confuse the nonverbal message with some lame attempt to impress them with my "skill"? Speak when spoken to, I say... a welcome guest is an invited guest. First, after about an hour, the lady next to me struck up a pleasant conversation. Later, someone asked a question about tax, which the instructor then deferred to me since he knew my experience with it.
I'm thinking that's why God did away with the "voice-in-the-burning-bush" routine. If silent relationships are golden, then his are the richest in the universe!
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