Page 164 - Roy W. Rice - CEO Material How to Be a Leader in Any Organization-McGraw-Hill (2009)

You Listen More Than You Talk • 145

The “sir” was John, whose mind was scattered. He was thinking
that he was certainly not going to make the obvious blunder that
the woman had made, but at the same time, he was drawing a
blank. He opened his mouth and said the first thing that came out
to him: “Where did you guys find such tremendous shrimp?” The
room exploded with laughter, and the massive tension that had
been hovering was released. Once the laughter subsided, John had
cleared his own mind enough to think intelligently again, and he
did in fact come up with an impressive question. John was one of
eight people who received a job offer after the recruiting event.
About a year later, he had a meeting with an executive who
said, “You look familiar.” They couldn’t figure out how they knew
each other, and finally, the light bulb went off. The exec said,
“I know, you’re the shrimp guy!” John’s gutsy and humorous
approach made a long-lasting impression.

Make it so that people are unafraid to question or challenge you.
When questioned, answer slowly. Respond with an informed, incisive,
candid, objective, and clear response. You also can reply with a
question—not to irritate, be cute, or be cagey—but to clarify what the
person was asking. Even an “I’m glad you asked that question” buys you
some time to think about your response while flattering the asker of the
question. (Everyone needs to have their self-esteem maintained.)
Don’t be a “ball-fetcher” only meaning someone who runs off to get
an answer when posed a question. It looks too eager to please and lacking
in confidence.
A “Tell me about yourself” question, for example, in a job interview
should not be answered with where you were born, what you’re parents
did for a living, what you did in school, who your favorite teacher was,
where you went to college, what you studied, what your extracurricular
activities were, where you’ve worked since getting out of college, what
you did, what you liked, what you didn’t, what you do for fun, and what
your horoscope is.