Connecting increases your influence in every situation. Experts say that we are daily bombarded with about thirty-five thousand messages—emails, billboards, televisions, movies, newspapers—demanding our attention. We also send messages to others longing for their attention. But only messages that are communicated effectively are accounted for; the rest fail to get across. The key to effective communication is connecting, which is learnable. Good leadership and communication at all levels depend on connecting.

Connecting is the “ability to identify with people and relate to them in a way that increases your influence with them,

John Maxwell

Getting along with neighbors, excelling in marital relationships and friendships depend on connecting. Even at work, connecting is the number one criterion for promotion.

Research has found that the most successful United States’ presidents exhibited five qualities: vision, pragmatism, consensus building, charisma, and trustworthiness. Among these qualities, four of them have to do with the ability to communicate on different levels.

Contrarily, President Bush’s “inability to connect alienated people and colored everything he did as president,” Maxwell explains. Failing to connect can destroy every good thing you have done.

Subscribe for free to get our bi-monthly articles to equip you.