I know that!
Last week I went to a session and the speaker suggested that instead of saying “I know that” try saying “that is fascinating”.
Now while you may feel a bit silly saying “that is fascinating”, you are not blocking out your listening and/or reading skills. If you say “I know that” a part of you switches off to your speaker. I do understand that you may have heard and read it before but sometimes the presenter will have a small nugget of information that may prompt you to take action in a way that will delight your customers, encourage your staff and/or give you a new lease of life in your business.
For example I often instruct people on the customer ladder. My ladder has the steps of:
Suspect -> Prospect -> Customer -> Clients -> Raving Fans
Our speaker had another model:
Suspect -> Prospect -> Shopper -> Customer -> Member -> Advocate -> Raving Fan
(NB: A suspect is your target market; a prospect is someone who takes action; a shopper is someone who buys; a customer is repeat business; a member is special level of customer; an advocate tells others about your business; and a raving fan is someone who closes the sale for you.)
Now if I have just switched out because “I know that” then I would not have heard about a new opportunity to classify clients and to potentially make more money!
So instead of saying “I know that” try “that is fascinating”, and just be receptive to new ideas.