23_25_David Robertson.qxp_Grid 22/05/2024 15:54 Page 1
OVER THE
COUNTER
BY DAVID ROBERTSON OF JP POZZI, ELGIN AND BUCKIE.
“I don’t wanna talk about it…” I like to get involved, whether it is in my own business and dealing with colleagues, the BID, Chamber of Commerce or many of the self-development workshops I attend. Moreover, I always feel compelled to add something, to say something, to make a point, to tell a story or indeed ask a question. As we all approach the big industry ‘talking shop’ that is PG Live, I am making a conscious decision to listen more and talk less. At a recent event a comment was passed after I spoke, about me overtalking and it hurt. Like a perfect punch to the solar plexus it took the wind from my sails and now a month or so later I am still reflecting on it and looking to see what or how I can improve. You want to say enough to be heard and get your point across, but you don’t want to overtalk. It is a fine line.
In the midst of all this personal reflection I listened to my favourite podcasts, The Overlap. Overtalking suddenly was mentioned by Eddie Howe, the Newcastle manager. He articulated how he could keep getting his points across to a team when he interacted with them daily. He shared that he was an overtalker in the beginning of his career and had then made a conscious decision to step away from that, learning techniques to have more impact in what he said. Of course talking too much is just one side of this coin. The other is do I really listen? Some 30 years ago I saw the film Pulp
Fiction when it was released and Tarantino is of course known for his dialogues between characters that are crucial to the story. In Reservoir Dogs for example you never see the robbery, you only hear about it (Tarantino couldn’t afford to shoot it!) In Pulp Fiction, Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman), the main character asks the hitman (John Travolta) she seduces: “Do you listen or do you just wait to talk?” This got me thinking again. Do I listen properly to understand and respond or am I just waiting for a gap to talk again? Listening and talking are two hugely powerful tools that we must master in business.
In retail we are communicating all day, whether it is with our teams, our suppliers or indeed our customers. Overtalking or not getting our points over carefully can actually do you much more harm and
Above: David Robertson is aiming to listen more. Left: David at PG Live with Rush Design’s Lorraine Bradley. Below: Human behaviour is acted out in Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction.
waste so much time. So how do we improve? How do we train ourselves to be better? In his book, STFU: The Power of Keeping Your Mouth Shut, Dan Lyons explores this very topic, coining the phrase ‘talkaholic’. I know I often do overtalk, tell the same story, or indeed ask an unneeded question, but I don’t talk just for the sake of it and I do want to hear the answer and discuss further the topics we are engaged in. I do wonder if my talking comes directly from two things. As an only child I grew up around lots of adults with whom I constantly engaged in conversation. I loved to speak about football or TV or indeed any subject and found nothing better than chatting with my parents’ pals. The other reason is that I have been brought up in shops since the age of 13 and quite simply that is what you do. You need to speak and engage with your customer. You need to remember key things about them and be genuine in your interest as this is often what sets you apart in terms of customers coming back time and again. PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE 23