You can't say the wrong thing to the right person

I squirmed like a worm

“That’s not my daughter… that’s my wife!”

7 words I'll never forget.

But before we get into it, let's press rewind.

It's the summer of 2022 and I'm on a discovery call over Zoom with the COO of a SaaS company based in San Francisco. ​ Why? ​ He was looking for a speaker to help his revenue team unlock the power of storytelling.

I digress. ​ 2 minutes into our call and I'm feeling kinda spicy. ​ I lean forward, smile and say something along the lines of: ​ “Ahhh man, that’s an awesome picture of your daughters in the background there…” ​ He pauses.

He gradually turns his head around to look back at the photo.

And all of a sudden, he starts grinning like a Cheshire cat. ​ “That’s not my daughter… that’s my wife!” he says.

One word: mortified.

That's how I felt at that moment.

As I'm squirming like a worm and fumbling my words like a looney toon, it dawns on me...

"Whatever happens Rav, this is going to be a great story!" I said to myself. ​ So, what happened next? ​ 2 things:

1. He hired me.

2. I transformed this moment into a story during my presentation.

The outcome?

The workshop was a huge SUCCESS!

Here's why this story matters to you, my friend...

We often get so caught up in hacks, gimmicks and tricks, that we forget the person we're trying to connect with is also a human being.

As I always like to say:

Imperfection = connection

In my own life, I've realised that I can't say the wrong thing to the right person (within reason of course)!

And I can't say the right thing to the wrong person.

At the end of the day, life and business is all about alignment.

What I'm trying to say is...

Don't try this at home as it certainly wasn't a gimmick, trick or "line".

I can't believe I have to say this in 2023, yet here we are lol!

I'll see ya next week homie.

Much love,

Ravi

1. [B2B SALES TEAMS & ORGANIZATIONS ONLY]​Book me for a storytelling keynote or workshop​: Whether it's in person or virtual, to an intimate audience or a room full of thousands, learn more about how your audience can become influential storytellers at your next sales kickoff, offsite or conference.