All you have to do is make yourself more likeable. Really.
Likeable people make an average of $29,000 more per year.
The best part? Anyone can be likeable. Yes, even your least-favorite coworker who always seems to be in a bad mood.
It takes developing strong people skills and actively working towards building trusted interpersonal relationships. Essentially, being likeable takes intention.
The best way to win people over is to make them feel heard, seen, valued, and remembered. We all want to know that other people care about us. It’s human nature.
How can you ensure the people you meet feel this way? By following up with them.
Win Someone Over By Following-Up
Every time you meet someone new or have a conversation with a friend, colleague, or client, jot down a few notes after your conversation about what they mentioned they had going on in their lives.
A few examples of topics that come up in a casual conversation:
- Upcoming vacations
- Interviewing for a new job
- Applying for a promotion
- Wedding planning
- Milestone in childrens’ lives
- Aging parent
- Hosting a dinner party
- Frustrating work situation
No matter how small the topic, even if it was an offhanded comment, write it down. Then, set a reminder in your calendar or phone to ask them about that topic in a few weeks, days, or months (depending on what the topic is).
If you know you’ll have another meeting with that person in the future, set the reminder to ping you just before that future meeting.
The next time you talk to them you can show that you were listening carefully, and cared about what they said, by following-up about their comment.
For instance, you might send a quick email that says:
“I was thinking about you this weekend because I know you mentioned your sister was getting married on October 1st! It was such a beautiful day for a wedding – so glad the rain held out. How did the weekend go?”
If you have a meeting monthly with a client and they mentioned they’re being considered for a promotion, you might start your next meeting with:
“In our last meeting you were telling me about the interview process you were going through for the internal promotion. I’ve been thinking of you! How did things turn out?”
You will be blown away by the positive response people give you when you remember and acknowledge something they mentioned in the past.
This is how you make yourself more likeable.
