Energy is everything. I’m not talking about how work much you can do before you’re falling down knackered… I’m talking about energy the way Aristotle described it:

“The energy of the mind is the essence of life,” he said. I couldn’t agree more.

We’ve all worked alongside low-energy characters, the sluggish and despondent types. Bringing a good healthy dose of Aristotelian energy to the table lifts the mood of people around you, marking you out as an attractive person to do business with – guaranteed.

Fortunately, it’s something you can practice: here are three easy-to-master tips to help you bring effervescence and sparkle to your professional relationships.

Step 1: Be a high energy listener: keep ‘em peeled

Be a relentless listener. If you are going to give out high energy, you need to absorb information like a sponge. Make a deliberate effort to open your eyes and ears a little wider as you go about your daily business. You will overhear little gripes and niggles at work. You’ll see things around town like new shops or jobs advertised in windows- even dreaded road works on the way home.

Be naturally nosy like this and you never know when you’ll be able to throw in a useful nugget of information – and be remembered as that helpful cheerful person who knew how to make things a little better.

Step 2: Give and share

If you master the habit of sharing then people often feel compelled to people share back…sharing might come be in the form of knowledge or ideas on your part but it might be contacts, contracts or even cold hard cash that comes your way.

Share your personal experiences. Don’t assume no-one’s interested. It feel’s great to share positive experiences, in situations where others could follow suit. Mention a restaurant you’ve been to where they really looked after you. If you know just the place to impress a date, don’t be shy about sharing the knowledge.

It’s a wonderful way to say ‘I care about you.’

And if colleague or business partner takes you up on the tip, and they have a great time, you’ll get a heartfelt thank you. That will feel great in itself. Of course you should give without a feeling of entitlement to receive something back, but it is well known that humans love to reciprocate, so you never know when you might be on the receiving end of an unexpected favour.

Step 3: Shine from the outside in

If you’re sitting there looking for all the world like you’d need three espressos just to stand up, the deal’s slipping away fast. You cannot afford to have a modicum of sluggishness about you. When someone is lively, it’s attractive, because it shows they care.

You should be animated. Get your hands talking. You’ll immediately pump up the energy. It’s impossible to sit sluggish with your hands jiving and jabbering away in front of you. It’ll drag your posture. You’ll be upright and engaged. Your eye contact will be more committed.

If you need a quick fix, busy your hands and your mind and body will follow – and so will the energy levels of the people around you.

Conclusion.

All these ideas are based on the basic human desire for reciprocation. Enthusiasm is contagious – and if someone helps you’re naturally more inclined to help them.

Energy has such a huge impact on your business life and your ability to lead and influence. It says volumes about your all round professionalism too. If you can clearly look after yourself, you can look after your customers. Conversely, if you look like you can’t take care of yourself, how are they supposed to think you can take care of them?

Good luck, let me know how you get on.

If you want to get some advice on boosting likeability and rapport building for massive business success , drop me a line at bkench@thebusinessbooster.co.uk

Now read: Sketchy ethics are a Non-starter for SME’s. Here’s Why…

Image Credit

href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/16230215@N08/4320466924″>Meditation Red Sun</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/”>(license)</a>