Being Responsive Helps You Stand Out

Do you appreciate it when your friends, business associates and fellow co-workers return your calls and emails? Have you ever received a personalized, hand-written note? Did you feel touched by it? Responses and personal notes are a form of validation and a way to say to another person “I notice you.”

We All Want to Know that we are Valued and Heard

We tend to feel positively about people who take the time to write us a thank you note, respond to an email, or notice us in some way. You can be that person who makes someone’s day. You can stand out and be noticed for your kind words. You can be a person that others want to have as a friend and do business with.

Most of us receive more emails, letters, and phone calls than we can easily manage. How we spend our time is always a matter of choice. When we don’t receive a response, we may feel that we are unimportant, even though the lack of response is not aimed at us personally. While each of us is responsible for the way we think, we are influenced in our thinking by our interpretations of others’ behavior.

“Life is relationships; the rest is just details.”
– Gary Smalley

Writing a note or returning a call or email takes very little time and yet the impact of those actions can mean a great deal. It’s rare to receive a hand-written note, but most of us delight in receiving a personal message in a card.

Asking people how they’re doing and showing a genuine interest is a caring gesture. Recognizing and expressing something unique or appealing about another person says “I see you”. Commenting on or “liking” someone’s blog gives validation for their work. Responding to an email or phone call shows respect. Even if you’re not interested in doing business with the person – or having a long-term relationship with him or her – responding is a form of acknowledgment. Engaging with another person is a caring and kind gesture.

You will likely feel good validating someone else, and I bet you’ll benefit in other ways. People who make the effort stand out and are remembered. We are inclined to support people who have taken an interest in us. When you make kind gestures, take an interest in someone else, respond to emails and phone calls, you become someone that others want to engage with and support.

I have a new contact that I’ve met through networking. She has commented on my blog posts and offers me feedback and suggestions. I truly and deeply appreciate that she takes the time to notice me and my work. As a result, when I come across people who are looking to hire someone in her line of work, she’s the first person I think of and I refer them to her.

You can be the person who stands out – who makes a difference!

“When we seek to discover the best in others,
we somehow bring out the best in ourselves.”
– William Arthur Ward

In business and in life we hear so much about the importance of relationships. Who will you let know that you “see” them? I’d love to hear your thoughts about this topic.

• Share on Facebook.
• Share on Twitter.
• Share on Google+
• Share on LinkedIn
• Share on StumbleUpon