Last week, I was with a client in a high-end store inside a large mall. Quiet space. Good lighting. Two attractive women working the floor.

Along with some shopping, I was guiding him toward one simple skill — becoming creative with words in real time.

He tried talking to one of the women. The conversation stayed predictable. Items in the store. A few basic questions about her. Then it died.

I pulled him in the corner, and asked him – “What do you see in this moment?”

He said, “pair of shoes lying down, the woman, the different shoes on the rack”.

I suggested to him at the time, “expand the scope of what you are seeing and paying attention. Try to see things you did not consider earlier. For example, the colour of her attire, lighting of the store, the languge two store woman are speaking in..common push yourself”

He tried, and came up with the unique design of sofa, the height of the billing counter, the sound of woman’s heels.

I pushed him further- “That’s great. Now use some of these observations, and make up something, and say it to her”.

He came with, “Sound of your heels while you walk reminds me of a movie scene”

She instantly laughed, and added a short story connected to heels.

This personal interjection from her changed his energy and uplifted him, and his confidence boosted. He picked up on thread of her story, and asked a personal question.

This changed the course of the interaction between all of us.

Here’s what actually happened in that moment.

He expanded the scope of his attention. He widened the net of his senses. I trained his attention in the moment, and use it to say something that has an element of curiosity or light-heartedness.

A common tendency, I have seen among my clients is the narrow scope and basic quality of their attention.

A simple exercise to start building this:

Go somewhere familiar — your usual café, a store you visit often. Sit down. And make a deliberate effort to notice something you’ve never noticed before.

The smell of the place. A sound in the background. Something about how a person carries themselves.

Write it down. One observation. Every day.

Do this for two weeks. Watch what happens to your conversations.