Author Roy Sheppard joins us on Close-Up Culture to discuss his book, Meet, Greet & Prosper. It is a concise, treasure trove of invaluable insights designed to enhance your interpersonal social skills, elevating your professional presence and reputation. You’ll discover answers to age-old questions about making a lasting impression and forging meaningful social and professional relationships.
When did you start working on Meet, Greet & Prosper?
The 2024 edition was updated a few months ago following a request from a CEO who wanted to order branded copies of the paperback for his company to give away to clients. He’d read and kept his original copy from 2002! It’s now only available as an eBook.
After lecturing on the topic of building strategic business relationships at conferences and business schools for about four years in the late 1990s, that’s when I originally wrote Meet Greet and Prosper. In total, it sold about 40,000 copies. It’s been updated about six times since then. And is probably more relevant now, than it was back then.
Can you tell us about the process of writing the book and how that journey was for you?
Having given lectures to hundreds of thousands of business people and mature students I amassed vast amounts of feedback to finetune what challenges they face and what help they most appreciated. This feedback allowed me to write a succinct, but practical guide on how to develop these crucially important social skills, become more confident in social and professional settings, and grow their network of high-trust connections with more high-calibre people.
It’s been interesting to observe how society has changed in the past 20 years. Smartphone technology, and more recently artificial intelligence may have revolutionised how we live and work, but in my view I have seen an explosion in ‘social awkwardness’ and anxiety around meeting new people face-to-face. The pandemic has contributed a great deal to that.
What can audiences expect from the book?
Shy, introverted people in particular often struggle with the idea of walking into a room of strangers. Logically, they realise they have to do it for their careers, but feel particularly uncomfortable in such environments. Following the global pandemic I think everyone who needs to interact with real humans would benefit from refreshing these social skills.
Yet so many people misunderstand the concept of networking, believing it’s about selling themselves. The eBook and audiobook shows them that the opposite is true. It’s about growing the number and quality of contacts who YOU learn to trust and who trust you, thus improving your long-term reputation. AI and algorithms can’t do that – yet!
I am so passionate about encouraging graduates (especially) to learn the importance of a proactive approach to relationship building. It might feel easier (and ‘safer’) to just connect with people online – but in my view, the richness of interacting with new people from diverse walks of life, other cultures etc will make a massive contribution to their future carers.
The eBook and audiobook is designed to provide simple, straightforward, practical ideas and techniques that will help them in social and professional environments whilst remaining true to themselves.
In a post-pandemic world, why do you think this book is so important?
In my view, an entire generation across the world were deprived of social skill development. Combine that with a shift towards being married to your smartphone, instead of making real-life connections, hundreds of millions of people have been conditioned into believing that arms-length intimacy is a better alternative. In my view, it’s not. Then add in the latest developments in artificial intelligence and you have a cocktail that conspires to sideline humanity and human connections.
I strongly believe face-to-face connections will actually become more important, not less, in the face of more widespread use of AI. Human connections based on trust, will become more important. That’s why networking is so important. Those people who make human connections a high priority will, in my opinion, stand to benefit the most in their future careers.
But it’s not just about careers, building a network is hugely important for your social life – even dating. Dating apps in particular have lost their lustre. The share prices of the biggest players are dropping like stones, as millions of single people have come to realise that online dating doesn’t actually deliver on their promise. Yet, single people who now don’t have the social skills are lost. So learning to speak to real people again has the power to improve people’s lives.
What was the process of putting the audiobook together like?
As a former professional BBC voice, recording audiobooks was extremely straightforward for me. (Factoid: for many years I was one of the regular letter readers on BBC One’s points of View)
I already had a home audio and TV recording studio with professional recording equipment anyway:
· A Shure MV7 microphone
· A Zoom H6 digital audio recorder
· I’m an expert user of audio editing software called Audacity (https://www.audacityteam.org/) which is used by millions, including audio professionals around the world.
Once the audiobook was recorded and edited, I uploaded it to www.findawayvoices.com who then distributed the finished audiobook to every global audiobook retailer.
What impact do you hope Meet, Greet & Prosper has on audiences?
I know these techniques work. I’ve lost count of how many people have told me that my lecture and the ebook has changed their lives for the better. Indeed, I was even shocked when I heard someone tell me at a conference in Hungary last year how it changed her professional life since 2014. That story is part of a 7 minute free audio sample at www.MeetGreetandProsper.com
Weirdly, whenever it’s been discussed (especially among parents with young adult children) the response has been incredibly positive. Without exception everyone has said “Where can I buy copies for me and my son or daughter?”
I hope the new audiobook helps even more people. Especially those who are just starting out in their careers. To prosper, is not just about money – it’s about thriving in all areas of your future life.
It therefore starts with giving people practical tools and techniques to help them gain enough self-confidence to make the decision to ‘get out more’!