Conversation with a Tomato

What are the conversations you have had in the last 24 hours? Maybe with your partner? with your kids? parents? friends? Anyone else? And should I also ask with anything else?

How was it when you went into the supermarket and bought a new pack of biscuits? What did you experience? Did the packaging speak to you? the colour, the icons, the pictures, the price, the claims, did they speak to you? And did you speak back? Maybe consciously or sub-consciously? “I like you”, “I don’t like your flavour” “I am going to get you”. Even for something you get regularly and not new, maybe tomatoes, did the best before date and the price speak to you if they were packaged and if not, the colour, the firmness? What did you say to the tomato?

A conversation is defined as an exchange of ideas, thoughts, opinions and views. Consciously or sub-consciously we have multiple conversations in a day with both human and non-human entities. These conversations then translate into Action or In-action. A key ingredient in a conversation is Purpose. Purpose can use various symbols to communicate. The supermarket has a Purpose, the pack of biscuits has a Purpose, you as a Shopper have a Purpose in that particular situation, it is when there is the alignment of Purpose that Action happens, that can lead to Trust, Value and Relationships. In this case, maybe you are seeking value from the tomatoes as they are going to be part of your dinner tonight and maybe through this experience, trust and relationship is formed with the supermarket where you bought the tomatoes from, and maybe trust, value and relationship results with this new pack and brand of biscuits

A similar scenario applies in a human to human interaction. Let’s take the example where a salesperson is trying to sell his product or service to a buyer. Both have a Purpose, though it might be at different levels. For the seller maybe he has his own Individual Purpose, the Brand Purpose of the product or service he is selling and maybe also the organisation’s Purpose that he belongs to and similar might apply to the buyer. It is when an alignment of Purpose at the right level happens through quality conversations that Action takes place. This action can lead to Trust, Value and Relationships or not as the case might be if the right conversations have not happened

Without a sense of Purpose, we are rudderless. Purpose at different levels gives us the direction and inputs into the quality of conversations. Conversations which can then be better controlled for a preferable outcome rather than left to chance.

What drives your conversations?