Master “Useless” Information
WMMM #012 - Tips for how top performers entertain, educate, and create more interactions.
Cardinal Initiatives Newsletter Apr 15, 2023 5 min read
Master “useless” information.
It separates top performers (in business and life.)
Looking for every competitive edge?
Be interesting.
I have witnessed some of the best in our industry interact with individuals over coffee, lunch, dinner, and various other social settings.
Useless information?
Hardly. Useless information is a verbal irony that describes anecdotes unrelated (useless) to the planned agenda.
The customers repeatedly find these sales professionals highly entertaining. The subjects are so far afield from the traditional that they find themselves unexpectedly “learning” something.
This dynamic produces four outcomes:
By learning something new, the customer receives a “gift” that makes them look informed when they share this with another.
The customer views the salesperson as the gift-giver, triggering the unconscious bias of reciprocity.
The customer feels entertained in the salesperson’s presence, making it more likely that they will accept another invitation to interact.
The salesperson receives the “halo effect,” another unconscious bias whereby the customer associates the salesperson’s knowledge of the obscure subject with other subjects yet to be discussed.
How do these top performers become Masters of Useless Information?
Some may be naturally curious, well-read individuals, but most work at it.
You can too.
Traditional Conversation Topics
When you meet a new person, what do you usually say to start a conversation?
“Where are you from?”
“How about this weather?”
“How about those Cowboys (local sports team)?”
“The traffic was awful getting here.”
“Where did you guys eat last night?”
“How was your weekend?”
You try to avoid politics and religion, but most stick with the same topics:
Hometown, Weather, Travel, Food, Family, Hobbies, and Sports & Entertainment.
This comes naturally to most people, and there is no preparation required.
Simply be interested.
Be Interesting
To be interesting regularly requires preparation.
Most accomplish it by consistently seeking new and interesting content.
Newsletters, blogs, and podcasts are popular sources.
5 Steps to Becoming a Master of Useless Information:
Identify a selection of publications, blogs, and podcasts that utilize top journalists to perform the research and write the content.
Subscribe and read/listen to these every week.
Curate the best pieces and write a summary of each every week.
Review each summary and identify additional questions about the topic.
Execute the “5 Whys” technique to perform the research and answer your questions to complete each summary.
Here is an example.
An outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic was a rental car shortage in 2021-22.
Rental prices soared to 4-5 times those of pre-pandemic.
Why? (#1)
Rental car companies sold off their inventories and canceled orders as demand plunged from lack of travel (due to lockdowns.)
As travel returned, they could not build their inventories due to a shortage of automobiles available for purchase.
Why? (#2)
Automotive manufacturing was impaired and could not operate at capacity to produce enough cars to satisfy demand.
Why? (#3)
Today’s modern automobile requires about 2,000 semiconductor chips to operate. Electric and hybrid vehicles are demanding even more.
There was a shortage of chips impairing auto manufacturing and production.
Why? (#4)
COVID-19 was one reason.
Due to lockdowns, semiconductor production facilities were shut down, depleting inventories.
An increase in remote work was another reason.
Remote work caused a surge in demand for computers, network peripherals, and other consumer electronics with chips.
Additionally, the Delta variant of COVID-19 severely impaired South Asia.
Why is this relevant? (#5)
90% of the world’s supply of high-end semiconductor chips is manufactured in Taiwan.
You can do this. All it takes is time and effort.
I have a system, do the research, and deliver anecdotes of “useless” yet impressive data, so you don’t have to.
Uncovering Taiwan’s surprising domination in this critical market led me to connect to a podcast I listen to regularly. After a restart of the 5 Whys, I completed the article that you can use to “Be Interesting.”
Click here to get it (it’s free).
Summary
Be interested and interesting.
Master the use of useless information.
Learn and share anecdotes that are less mainstream.
Experience more interactions with customers.
Enhance your Brand.
Thanks for reading,
Jeff
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