Can We Talk?

This time it wasn’t a conversation with a jeweller.  It was with my friend Larry, who owns a Crackmaster auto-glass business.  We were comparing notes about our kids and how they communicate.  Our consensus was that there’s a new generation who have atrocious conversation skills.

After spending most of their time using spelling shortcuts, little or no grammar and very little conversation practice we’re facing young job applicants who barely know how to introduce themselves; let alone answer interview questions.  So, quite obviously a major criterion for hiring is finding that rare young person who can easily and effectively converse with you and customers of all ages. 

That’s obvious, but consider this: the next generation of diamond buyers come to you from this same pool.  Because many of them are used to communicating digitally, we’ll need to work with these modern consumers on their level.  Using full sentences and big words might be construed as pretentious; or should I say might sound snooty (lol.)  As I’ve written before, communication via digital means should also be considered.  You could offer repair pick-up notifications via their preference of telephone, text-messaging or email.

You could also join my friend Larry and I in going out of our way to spend time conversing with as many young people as possible.  I don’t think the art of conversation is dead yet.  The truth is that we’ve got a younger generation who can pick-up knowledge quicker than ever before.  What used to take us an hour to research in volumes and encyclopedias can be accessed digitally in seconds from a smart-phone.  Since these kids are going to be running the world soon enough, I think it wise to keep a close eye on them.

Take a teen out for coffee today!