Family lessons for business success Washington DC

When a parent talked, we listened. Or at least we were supposed to.

Parents are a bridge between generations. Parents are supposed to hand down valuable teachings and cultural guidance.

Unfortunately, most parents don’t teach their children the language of business. Most parents don’t even know about the “Language of Success.”

How could they know? Their parents didn’t teach them, and it certainly isn’t taught in our schools.

When it comes to effective communication, the training our parents were equipped to give us may have actually put up a roadblock to business success.

Let me explain.

There are three rules of communication that we were taught by our parents. In any language, these three rules contain the same cultural message. They are intended to keep a child out of harm’s way and/or out of the hair of grownups.

Here are the three rules:

Rule 1. Never speak to strangers.
Rule 2. Don’t speak unless spoken to.
Rule 3. You should be seen and not heard.

Isn’t this what you were told?

These rules would seem to stand in the way of unfettered business success.

You can easily see how these communications guidelines might hinder your ability to make new contacts and promote your business. By their very nature, these rules are not intended to make you more effective in your marketing, sales or other business activities.

Networking is all about meeting strangers and creating new relationships.

Speaking before you're spoken to is the primary function of marketing.

Marketing is about making people, primarily strangers, aware of your product, service, or expertise.

Don't get me wrong. These are great rules for young kids. However, these rules are just not that useful in the world of business.

The “never speak to strangers” rule may have a lot to do with the fact that speaking in public ranks first on the list of human fears. Well, why not? Most of the “public” are strangers.

The “Language of Success” encourages you to speak to strangers. The Language of Success provides you with guidelines that will help you say the right thing and ask the right question at the right time.

For those of us who are fortunate enough to be able to communicate with one or both of our parents, ask them for permission to speak to strangers. Tell your mom and/or your dad that your business might depend on it.

Copyright 2006 Ike Krieger

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