Whilst you would never think it to look at me, I drive a 150 mile round trip just to get my hair done. It’s a long story but, for the past 8 years or so, I have driven from my home in North Shropshire to Cheltenham every 6 weeks or so to be primped and preened.

Last Saturday was one of these days and for some reason I had booked my appointment for 11am, so a nice early start was on the cards.

I don’t know about you but, for me, the greatest dilemma when driving early on a Saturday morning is deciding what to listen to as I drive. My CD collection, whilst eclectic, isn’t always what I need  as I traverse Junction 8 of the M6 after a long working week.

Last weekend I decided, as usual, to give Sounds Of The Sixties a miss and opted instead for Radio 4 until Brian Matthew had finished sharing his magical mystery tour of that particular decade with us.

As I approached Cheltenham city limits and following John McCarthys fascinating tour of Martello Towers of the south coast  Saturday Live welcomed a very effusive Italian called Gianni Golfera who was being interviewed about his role as a memory man extraordinaire. He was sharing some tips on how to store information so that when we need to recall it, on demand, we don’t suffer those embarrassing moments when our memory simply refuses to produce the name of the person in front of us who greets us like a long lost friend.

Gianni mentioned one particular tip that I try to use when meeting someone for the first time. When introduced, and as soon as I have been given their name I immediately (at lightening speed, or as fast as my brain allows) try to visualise someone else that I know with the same name and connect the new acquaintance with that other friend, family member, colleague or client.

If, like Gianni, they have an unusual name or come from somewhere that I have never heard of, I increase my chances of remembering it by asking them to spell it for me. For me, this helps the name to stick in a similar way that writing things down often makes them easier to remember.

Gianni explained that this technique centres around emotional attachment and the fact that, at the point of communication, only 31% of what we receive resonates with our logical brain but, remarkably, 69% connects with our emotional brain, our inner being, the real person. I found this statistic not only fascinating but reassuring in that my preferred communication style is to connect with the emotional side of my audience.

Whether professionally or personally, and those who know me will testify, I am interested in the reality of a given situation, the real issue, the real person, the true emotional connection, whatever that might be.

In any form of communication, if we can connect on an emotional level, however deep that might be, we are more likely to make firm, lasting and valuable relationships with family members and colleagues, friends or business associates.

My message to you would be to recognise and harness your strengths, know what motivates and inspires you and use that enthusiasm to connect with your target audience.

Keep it real!

Heather

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