Sometimes Influence Begins with a Simple Conversation
How a chance encounter on a neighborhood walk became a powerful reminder about the true nature of influence.
Sometimes Influence Begins with a Simple Conversation
By Susan Lyn Sykes
This morning, I didn't set out to meet anyone.
I simply needed a walk.
Like so many of us, I had spent too much time listening to opinions about what I should do, how I should do it, what my presentation should look like, what my voice should sound like, and what success is supposed to look like.
The noise had become louder than my own thoughts.
As I walked, the words from Bruce Springsteen's Dancing in the Dark came to mind:
"You can't start a fire without a spark."
It reminded me that while advice can be helpful, no one else's voice can replace your own sense of purpose.
A few minutes later, I noticed a young mother standing in her yard. One of her dogs was on a leash; the other wasn't.
Only three weeks earlier, I had been bitten by an overly excited neighborhood dog that jumped on my back during one of my walks. It would have been easy to let that experience turn into fear.
Instead, I made a different choice.
The dog walked over to me, and I stayed calm.
Rather than causing a problem, the dog simply walked beside me while its owner called for it to come home.
When she finally got the dog back, she apologized.
That apology became a conversation.
She shared that she is a stay-at-home mom and that her little boy will soon be starting Pre-K.
For a moment, I wasn't thinking about the work I do today.
I was thinking about the 32 years I spent teaching young children with special needs.
Some things never leave us.
Teachers don't stop encouraging people when they retire.
They simply find new classrooms.
As we continued talking, I asked what she did. She told me she stays at home with her child. I shared that I enjoy educating people and helping them discover opportunities they may not have considered.
When I mentioned that I had information she could explore if she was ever interested, she first took her dogs inside, then went into her house to get her phone, came back outside, and scanned the QR code on my phone.
There was no pressure.
No expectations.
Just a conversation and an invitation to learn more if she ever chose.
As I continued my walk, I realized something that has followed me throughout every season of my life.
Influence isn't measured by how many people hear us speak.
It's measured one conversation at a time.
Sometimes influence happens in a classroom.
Sometimes in a meeting.
Sometimes over coffee.
And sometimes it begins on a quiet neighborhood street with an unexpected conversation between two women who simply took the time to listen.
I still believe the world needs experts.
But perhaps, even more than experts, it needs people who are willing to be present.
To listen.
To encourage.
To leave others feeling seen, valued, and free to choose their own path.
If we can do that, we may never know how far one ordinary conversation can reach.
