The context in which a conversation takes place really matters. Without it, conversations can feel misaligned, confusing, or even conflicting.
Let me share a favourite story with you to illustrate how much difference context can make.
Jacques Prevert, a famous French poet, once walked by a blind beggar who had a sign next to him that read:
“Blind man without a pension.”
He asked the man how he was doing, and the blind man replied, “Very badly, no one is making any donations.”
Jacques then picked up the man’s sign and changed what it said.
Three days later he walked by again and asked the blind man how he was doing. He said “Fantastic! My hat is filling up three times a day.”
So, what happened?
Jacques changed the blind man’s sign to read, “Spring is coming, but I won’t see it.”
He knew that the new context would change the way people thought about the situation.
What are clients expecting?
For most clients a conversation about them, their life, what matters to them, what they want, and how they can achieve it will be hugely more engaging than talking about the technicalities of pensions, investments, or what the markets are doing.
Yet it is also true that many clients will be expecting a numbers and product driven conversation, not realising that real financial planning is ‘life centred’ rather than just ‘money centred’.
Who sets the context?
As the professional person it is our job to set the context of the conversations we have with clients.
It would be great to say that there is a one size fits all way to do this, but in my experience there isn’t.
For me, a good place to begin is by asking a client what they want from the conversation. In this way I can acknowledge what they want and respect this, yet it doesn’t stop me redirecting the context. This is always done in collaboration with the client because they need to be in agreement and willing to have a conversation within the context we request.
Where does setting the context begin?
I think it begins at the earliest opportunity. This is why producing educational content (a book, videos, white papers, articles, etc.) is so helpful. When people engage with your materials the setting of the context has already begun.
You also want to be aware of anything that diverts the context away from the direction you want to take a conversation. For instance, if you want to have deeper ‘life centred’ conversations with clients and your firm’s website is ‘product centred’, this may not be helping!
Creating context for financial recommendations and advice
Another example of creating context is one I learned from Dr Robert Cialdini, author of ‘Influence’ and other books on the subject.
If you are going to make recommendations to your clients it can be useful, just as your maths teacher at school wanted, to “Show your workings”. You want to avoid presenting an idea in isolation.
So, you describe the various options and why you discarded them to arrive at the recommendation you are making. This creates the context where your advice shines by comparison.
The main point is to appreciate that the most effective communicators create favourable contexts within which to conduct conversations.
PS. When is a client ready for deeper conversations? Click here to read more.
