Making Meaningful Connection Easy

Those who connect with others and the world around them meaningfully and authentically can do anything. Creating connection is, of course, a foundational skill for nonprofit askers.

Whether we are aware of it or not, day in and day out we all make literal connections (to others), mental connections (to our own and others' thoughts and ideas), and spiritual connections (to creativity, vitality, energy). You might say we are naturals at creating connections. And you'd be right. In his book Social: Why Our Brains are Wired to Connect, Neuroscientist Mathew Lieberman writes all about it.

There is a direct correlation between the level of success we enjoy in our career of choice and our willingness and ability to create connections.

Connect with others whoever they may be at any given moment.

Connect with your environment wherever that may be at any given moment.

Connect with things in your environment whatever they may be at any given moment.

Connect thoughts to make sense of [fill in the blank with that thing you've been thinking].

Connect patterns to learn something new like a skill, a process, a system.

Now, it's important to remember you're not forcing a connection. You're letting it happen by exercising your connection muscles on a regular basis outside of your work with donors and prospects and allowing the humanity in you to connect with the humanity in others.

When we practice creating meaningful connections outside of our visits, it's easier to create them during visits whether we know our prospect a little, a lot, or not at all.

Here are three extraordinarily simple ways to flex your connection muscles.

1. Look up.
2. Make eye contact.
3. Smile.
4. Listen.
5. Ask questions.
6. Show genuine interest.

Incorporating these into your daily routine with all people makes them automatic during prospect visits.

Plus the day-to-day will be more enjoyable for you and the others you come in contact with.