Connecting With FBLA

By Emma Sayers, Illinois FBLA State Vice President, Eastern Area

​One of the most impactful effects of FBLA is the connections you build with others. But they can be intimidating. I want to give you some ways to grow your relationships with others by simply speaking and listening like a leader. When making a connection you may feel as if you want to explode with all this information about yourself. Try getting to know the other person first. Of course, introduce yourself properly with your name. After the introductions, be sure to listen to them. Find value in the words they say. Most people listen with the intent to reply. Instead, listen to understand. Enjoy this inspiration from Dr. Steven R. Covey's fifth Habit of Highly Effective Teens. “If I were to summarize in one sentence the single most important principle I have learned in the field of interpersonal relations, it would be this: Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” Your interactions with someone may be short or long. Either way, you should not decide prematurely what the other person means before they have finished communicating. Great leaders make others feel comfortable not intimated. I promise your connections with others will grow stronger when you seek to understand them first.