The Small Talk Call Back
How a comedy tool can improve your candidate, customer, or client interactions.
We have all experienced the magic of a comedy callback. Dave Chappelle has got to be the master of this and his own spin on the callback joke in Equanimity is literally the stuff of legend. But for those of you who are unfamiliar, a callback is simply a reference to something that was said earlier.
That really doesn’t seem too groundbreaking a concept, but callbacks are so effective that they have become a staple of comedy, almost to the point of overuse. What I believe makes a callback funny is that it is a type of inside joke; a point of relation between the comic and their audience that feels special and unique.
Why is this relevant to candidate, customer, or client interactions? Well, I use callbacks in my interviews to great effect and I would like to share my strategy with you so you too can tap into the magic of The Smalltalk Callback.
Any time I interact with a candidate, I always engage in a little smalltalk to start. Besides helping the candidate to be at ease, smalltalk can really give you a glimpse into a candidate beyond their paper qualifications. I typically ask them about how their week is going, if they have any plans for the upcoming weekend, and squirrel away any answers for later.
When the interview is over and we are wrapping up, I finish by expressing my hope that the candidate enjoys whatever weekend plans they talked about at the start of the interview. For example “And I hope you enjoy your barbeque with the family this weekend!” This might seem simple, but it is amazing the consistent positive reactions I get from this brief reference of our earlier conversation. I get pleasantly surprised reactions, genuine expressions of appreciation, and well wishes returned in kind.
People react this way because that smalltalk callback shows you were genuinely interested in them and listening to what they had to share. People find this surprisingly delightful and I would wager that the feeling of being listened to is probably one of the single most important things you can give another person. (Well, maybe it is the feeling of being understood, but listening is essential to understanding and a very good first step!)
And while I use my smalltalk callback every call that I can, I don’t feel like I am engaging in some cheap trick. I honestly enjoy speaking to candidates (most of my friends and co-workers know you can’t get me to shut up sometimes 😜) and this is simply a way that I can show them I appreciated them taking the time to speak with me and listened to everything they had to share.
So I would encourage you to try The Smalltalk Callback in your next call with a candidate, client, or customer. I think you will find that it helps you build that rapport that is so important to these interactions and will set you apart as more than just a transactional business interaction, but a real human connection.
