This Means WAR

I recently started listening to podcasts during my lunch breaks instead of doomscrolling through Instagram for an hour.

I haven’t found a series I want to listen to religiously yet, but there have been some insightful moments.

One episode I listened to from The Sales Hunter Podcast really stuck with me. The episode discussed how to personalize your pitch to connect and convert faster.

During every interaction, sales or otherwise, there are always three conversations happening:

• What you think you’re going to say

• What you actually say

• What the other person hears

I only want to focus on the first conversation.

This is our internal voice—the conversation we have with ourselves while we’re contemplating every option and scenario. Quite possibly the most dangerous place.

The episode refers to this internal conversation as the WAR Room. Sounds intense, right?

During conversations, our minds are flooded with information. We’re not just processing what we hear. We’re thinking about how we should respond, where the conversation might lead, what objections might come up, how we’ll handle those objections… and sometimes even what we want for dinner later.

That’s why it’s called the WAR Room.

WAR stands for “Working Against Results.”

Unfortunately, our minds are constantly doing exactly that. Creating obstacles that aren’t really there. Imagining objections that haven’t been raised. Talking ourselves out of things before they even happen.

And if you let that internal conversation run wild, it becomes noise.

This is where I struggle.

During sales conversations, or even normal conversations, I sometimes spend too much time in the WAR Room. Thinking about what I should say next instead of fully listening to what’s actually being said.

Ironically, the more time you spend in your head, the worse the conversation becomes.

You miss details.
You respond instead of listening.
You start solving problems that don’t exist.

The best communicators seem to do the opposite. They simplify the moment. They stay present. They listen fully, respond simply, and trust that the conversation will unfold the way it’s supposed to.

Less strategy.
More attention.

Something I’m trying to get better at.

Because most of the battles happening in the WAR Room were never real in the first place.

*If you want to dive deep into all 3 types of conversations, click here.