Don’t Take KLT Personal

Understand the KLT SystemThe KLT system is not meant to harm anyone. I would like to take a moment to explain.

Think about the words that we are using for this survey.

Know is what we learn about a person to understand why they do what they do; their background and their life. You might think you know someone based on meeting him/her at a networking event and talking to him/her for a little while. Someone else might be more conservative about saying whether or not they “know” someone, if they have only met once. In the future I would like to define that a little bit better, and I would like to give some guidelines on what it means to know someone. You might say,” I’ve met him/her, but I don’t know him/her.”

Like tends to be a bit more emotionally driven, but I want to define “like” a little bit differently. I don’t want it to be negative if you don’t like someone. It’s OK not to like someone. it doesn’t mean that it’s personal. We meet many people when we network. We can’t “like” all of them!  Maybe someone you network with just hasn’t given you enough information to know if you like that person or not. My recommendation is to go with your gut, when you are completing a KLT Survey.

Do you spend a lot of social time with the people in your networking circles? Have you went boating or on a vacation with any of these people? Do you like this person well enough to take them on a vacation? Do you like this person well enough to go to dinner? Do you like this person on the level of just social networking?

The meaning of the word like can be very different for every person, but the KnowLikeTrust survey it’s not supposed to be emotionally driven. You can ask many questions to get to Your KLT responses without using “emotion:”

  • How does this person network?
  • What vibe is he/she giving off?
  • Is this person friendly? Charismatic? Genuine? Personable?
  • Does he/she know their product/service?
  • Does he/she represent a good product/service/brand?
  • Does this person balance talking and listening?
  • Does this person sell all the time?
  • Is this person easy to be around?
  • Does this person respect everyone else in the group?
  • Does this person contribute?
  • Does he/she dress appropriately?
  • Does he/she speak appropriately?
  • Does he/she smile? Laugh? Engage with others?

This person isn’t going come back to you and ask why you don’t “like” them. Your response isn’t as important as all the answers together. Your personal information is kept confidential, anyway but even if they did get your personal information, he/she will appreciate your honest feedback.

Let’s compare networking to acting. If you are a good actor you make it seem real, Do you suspend my disbelief? In networking we might ask, Do I want to do business with him/her? The like term is not meant to be about “personal feelings.”

Trust is a bit less subjective, but it is possible to have different levels of trust. Someone explained trust to me as, “Would you trust this person is a business transaction or would you recommend this person to others. Once again, It’s not about anything personal. it could be that you get a gut feeling that a person doesn’t do good business. Maybe this person has missed an important meeting; maybe he/she has let someone else down. By telling this person that you have a lack fo trust, you can help him or her to be more accountable.

I hope this post helps to clear up any confusion with this survey and to put this survey on a different level other than personal, emotional attachments to the words know, like and trust. because we don’t have to attach anything to these words. They are just words and this is just a way to measure the efforts of someone who is going out and trying to build relationships. By choosing to NOT take someone’s survey you are not contributing to that person’s development; if you do take their survey you are helping him/her more than you know!

The goal of this report is to help people to improve their networking abilities and relationship building. Everybody can be better. Everybody can learn. Everybody can improve what they’re doing, and this report is the easiest way to know when you walk out that door, when you go to an event, when you go to a one-on-one meeting, if that time and energy put forth is beneficial. f it’s not beneficial than we don’t have to waste that time, because we can get real feedback from the people who matter most. So let’s make those moments count. Let’s help our peers be better networkers!

Founder of KnowLikeTrust

Founder of KnowLikeTrust

How Do You Earn Being “Liked?”

How is that you know if someone “likes” you. What does “like” even mean? Here’s the definition:

to find agreeable, enjoyable, or satisfactory. Synonyms: be fond of, be attached to, have a soft spot for, have a liking for, have regard for, think well of, admire, respect, esteem. Antonyms: hate, dislike, not favor.

It is possible to know someone and not like that person. How is it that you get to “like” level with a person. How long does it take for someone to decide if they like you?

In a networking situation you might not have an opportunity to get to know someone for several meetings. Maybe other commitments have kept two people from getting to know each other.

How do you earn being “liked?”

Am I likable? “Like” is different than “know” because it depends more on the other person than you. For someone to know you they need to learn about you. Sometimes people decide they don’t “like” someone based on a feeling, so “like” is even less objective than “know.”

The most important think to know about “like” is that we don’t expect anyone to try to get someone to “like” you by not being YOU. Most of the time, people have a more difficulty with “like” status because they are trying too hard…they aren’t just being their genuine self. So here are some tips for making improvements in this area:

  1. Be yourself. Don’t try to be something or someone you aren’t.
  2. If you are having trouble finding something to say, don’t say anything. If you aren’t great in social settings, don’t try too hard. Just being in social settings will help you get better in them. Make a conscious effort to not say anything, rather than saying too much or something that you will regret later.
  3. Smile. There is lots of research that shows that smiling helps people bond.
  4. Be honest. If you don’t know how to respond and your concerned. Just say, “I’m sorry, I don’t know how to reply to that.” Or, “I’m sorry. I don’t understand.”
  5. Keep conversations light. Especially with people you are networking with or you don’t know very well. Stay away from controversial conversations. If you do get stuck in a controversial conversation, you can jokingly opt out.
  6. Balance conversations. If you find that you are talking a lot, try to “put the ball, in someone else’s court.” Ask a question to get someone else to take over.
  7. Do your work well. If you are in a group and you have a particular profession, knowing your profession very well speaks volumes.
  8. Don’t try to sell all the time. The rule of thumb is 80/20. While networking, only 20% is selling and 80% is relationship building.

Your KLT report can help you learn more about the impression you are leaving with you peers.