The degree of success that you achieve in business will ultimately come down to the degree of depth of your conversations. Business is, essentially, nothing more than good conversation skills.

The main block in the way of having necessary conversations at work is technology. Rather than making the time to have lunch with a valued customer to further our relationship, we leave a voicemail to save time. All this reliance on technology keeps away the human aspect, which is integral to business growth. Without regular and sustained conversations, no such bond can develop.

Here are five ways to help you fruitfully engage in conversations and continue to experience higher levels of success.

Be a friend

Research has shown that one of the main reasons that people are no longer as motivated and loyal at work is because they do not feel that they are part of a community. To increase the “human moments” within your workplace, carve out the time to personally meet people and connect with them at a level beyond the superficial. Open your heart and listen to them in a genuine manner. Ask them about their family, their passions and their hopes. Show them that you are truly there for them.

Keep circulating

Circulating simply means that you make it a priority, as much as possible, to take your clients out to lunch or breakfast. Whenever possible, visit your customers’ place of work to get a feel of their environment and the energy of their workplace.

Community care

Keep thinking about building your community and taking care of it. This might involve sending an article that has been of value to you to every member of this community every 90 days. This might involve making calls to every member of your community when you are stuck in an airport for two hours and have nothing to do. Or it might involve sending a book you have read to all the community members.

Family ties

Having a peaceful and fulfilling home life serves as a platform to fuel your business success. If you lose the conversation and stop having deep communication with your family, you will ultimately lose your family. Make the time to talk in a very open and engaging way to the members of your family on a daily basis. It should be quality time.

‘Me’ time

Journaling is nothing more than a conversation with yourself. Reflect on how you are working and living. Reflect on the lessons you learn, on the people you meet and the thoughts you think. It is interesting that only humans have the capacity to step out of their thinking and evaluate their thoughts. The more we witness our thoughts, the more we can disengage from our thinking if it does not serve us and make higher choices around better thoughts.

So as you become the main person and the leader you are meant to be, keep increasing your conversations. Keep talking to the people you work with. Keep talking to your customers. And keep engaging in the most important conversation of all: the conversation with self.