SHORTENING CONVERSATIONS

This free guide will teach you 3 things you can do to shorten conversations with class and
confidence.

SET EXPECTATIONS

The root cause of all problems within interpersonal relationships is the violation of
expectations. If a talkative person comes into the conversation expecting to be able to
speak for an extended period of time she/he will be offended if she/he feels like you are
rushing him/her.

You need to set clear expectations before the conversation begins. A great way to do this
is by sending an agenda via email or text. This should be done even in informal settings.
This could be as simple as saying something like the following:

Steve,

I hope this finds you well. I want to make sure I’m prepared for this
meeting tomorrow. We’re planning on talking about X, Y, and Z,
right? Let me know if there’s anything else you want to chat about.
Also, just a heads up, I have a meeting soon after this so I won’t be
able to talk longer than 30 minutes.

I’m looking forward to connecting.

Scott

If you set a clear expectation for the length of the meeting, then they won’t blame you for
rushing the meeting, they will blame your schedule. It shifts the focus of their potential
frustration off of you.


HANDLE AS MUCH OF IT AS POSSIBLE VIA EMAIL

If the person is especially talkative you could email them a few open-ended questions
after they agree to the agenda. This will help them to think through the issues more
completely before the conversation so they can come to the table with fully articulable
thoughts. Make these questions action oriented and solution oriented. If you don’t do this,
you risk letting this conversation devolve into a brainstorming session.

• What do you think we could do about …

• How can we address…

• What are some potential solutions for …

KEEP TRACK OF TIME DURING THE CONVERSATION

It’s easy to lose track of time during these conversations. Make sure the meeting stays on
schedule. Here are a few go-to phrases to keep the conversation moving forward
productively without seeming impolite.

• Remind them of your previously mentioned time constraints and let them know
that we need to move forward in the conversation if we want to address all of the
issues: “Also, like I mentioned before, I have a meeting I need get to in a few
minutes. Let’s make sure we talk about X and Y before we have to leave.”

• Talk about next steps or action items. This will signal the conclusion of the
business relevant portion of the conversation. Take the opportunity to do this as
soon as you have addressed every issue on the agreed upon agenda: “It looks
like we made some progress today. What are our next steps?”

• Ask them about what they’re doing after the meeting during a lull in the
conversation. This will get them to focus on the fact that the conversation must
end and there are other things to be done. This will also give you an opportunity
to refer to what you need to do and that you need to leave in order to do it: “What
do you have on your agenda for the rest of the day?” then you can follow with
“Well don’t let me stand in your way. (Start gathering your things) I actually need
to get going too because I need to do A, B, and C.”


FINAL THOUGHTS

If this works for you, shoot me an email and let me know, write a review on the iTunes
podcast page, and/or connect with me on LinkedIn. I would love to hear of your success!

Also, if you found this helpful, please share this with your friends. My goal is to teach the
art of negotiation to as many people as possible so please spread the love! That would
help me, it would help your friends, and it would make you look like an all-star.