Guest post by Michelle Cubas, Enterprise Business Coach at Positive
Potentials LLC
I am always on the look out for new and interesting coaching
resources. Recently I connected with Michelle Cubas of Potentials LLC and she
described her concept called Instant Intellect (TM). One aspect of an Instant Intellect is its
attention getting power. It is the cure for shallow conversations. It attracts
people to you. As
Here is an overview of the concepts:
Many clients have shared with me a social anxiety or disdain about
"small talk" and what I call "social conversations." Read
on and you may change your mind.
Small talk sprinkled with active listening and Instant Intellect
is sure to make you memorable. Here’s what happens:
- When you listen, you can
mimic the pace of the speaker. That reveals their comfort pace.
- While listening you’re
assessing the vocabulary so you can echo back in similar terms.
- Your conversation partner
walks away thinking, “She understood me.” That’s an instant emotional
connection when you make your follow up contact.
These types of interactions are intended to teach us about others'
observable styles as well as provide clues for further engagement. One such
benefit is to understand what interests someone or your ability to
authentically offer information without appearing to be a
"know-it-all."
So, what will you do with it?
How can it serve you?
Until one sees the value in developing such an asset, then the
resources required to obtain it won't be justified. It's that simple.
7 Steps to Acquiring
an Instant Intellect:
1. Pick a topic you want
to learn more about. Select something that stimulates your curiosity.
2. Take five days and
gather as much information you can from a variety of sources (internet,
publications, trade associations, archives).
3. Commit to scanning the
materials you've collected and select three points that interest you from the
“compost pile.”
4. Use or refer to the
three points daily in some aspect of conversation. For example, “How many times
have you wondered about the colors in a rainbow? I did. Would you be to know
what I found (Click for the answer.)?”
5. Attend a seminar,
lecture, or class on one of the three items you selected. (Consider
non-traditional places like churches, mosques, synagogues, and organizations
conducting courses.)
6. Write a journal entry
(one page single spaced) on where this exercise took you—boosted curiosity,
added conversation starters. Did you meet interesting people? Did you impress someone
with your curiosity? How can you use this information in your personal and
professional endeavors?
7. Submit your thoughts to
a local media outlet, publication, newsletter, blog, etc. You will now be on
the record with your intellectual pursuit.
Who knows? You may discover an avocation, a passion, a pathway you
didn't acknowledge before.
For more information you can email Michelle at mcubas@positivepotentials.com
or visit the website at www.positivepotentials.com
