Enough About You, Let’s Talk About Me!

A classic line that appeared in every episode of Johnny Bravo, the triangular cartoon character completely consumed with himself. While we may not be as over the top as Johnny, our tendency is to want to bring the conversation back to ourselves like a boomerang. Brian Regan calls that person a “me monster.” And, if you’re familiar with that bit, unless you’ve walked on the moon, you may want to consider a different approach in your conversations to open up communication. Work at being more interested than interesting.

Sure, it sounds simple. You may even think you’re already doing that but I challenge you to take stock during your next conversation. See how many times you throw in a “that reminds of when I…” or “have I ever told you about the time when I…”. It can get away from you in a hurry and when it does, you’re losing influence and impact with the person you’re talking with. Truly work at serving the other person in your conversations and see how your relational capital grows for the good. Next time try, “Enough about me, let’s talk about you!”