There are a lot of reasons why people don’t share what they truly think in professional situations.Just remember to root your honesty in what will actually have utility for the other party. This will set a good tone for all future conversations.

Offer unvarnished honesty

Acknowledging your own fallibility and human imperfection can go a long way toward making yourself relatable. Especially if there’s a power dynamic where someone is asking for your advice, attention or help, you want to put the other person at ease.Taking the time to call or meet in person also expresses humility.

Use humility markers

End every meeting or conversation with the feeling and optimism you’d like to have at the start of your next conversation with the person.Assume you’re going to run into everyone again.

Ending on a positive note

If you want to connect with someone professionally to move your goals forward, you need to know exactly why you care about that person or their company. And you need to know how to articulate it succinctly. If you know you’re headed into a call or event and want to make a good impression on certain people, create mini dossiers for them.

Prepare in advance

Maybe you can’t provide what someone is looking for. But, if you can change the angle or way they’re thinking about something by openly brainstorming with them, you make them feel like they got something special and unexpected. It’s key that you’re brainstorming with them, not for them.

Blue-sky brainstorm

Being a good listener is about two things: <ol><li>Demonstrating that you’ve heard exactly what was said by the other person.</li><li>Encouraging them to continue. This breaks down into what’s called “backchanneling” — offering short, enthusiastic responses as the other person talks (i.e. “yeah” “mm-hmm” “totally” “I can see that”), and asking follow up questions that reference the information you were just given.</li></ol>

Listen with intent

Actively project warmth and high energy. People like you when they feel liked by you.To make it clear you’re interested in the other person, think about what they know that you don’t. What do you actually want to learn in the interaction? Focus on that so that they can walk away knowing they added value too.

Convey genuine appreciation

Fall 1996. A young Chris Fralic is selling software for Oracle. He's not sure what he wants to do next, but he's always been curious about venture capital. And then some unusual magic happens - a friend offers to introduce him to Kevin Compton, a vaunted name in VC.

Use humility markers

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