This is the first blog of the seven-part series of “7 habits of highly effective teh tarik kakis.
[To have a better understanding of what is “teh tarik”, “teh tarik kaki” or “teh tarik session’, please go the About page]
Going back to the 1st habit of highly effective Ah Bengs, it is “Kin Ka Kin Chiew (fast leg, fast hand)”. Similarly for Teh Tarik Kakis, it should be like this:
In all teh tarik sessions, we should be always ready to take the initiative to
- find and choose good partners (teh tarik kakis) to teh tarik or yum cha
- look out for good places to teh tarik/yum cha
Good Partners for teh tarik session
You would see many people just hang around at mamak stalls for the sake of killing time with no good partners to chat. They would perhaps just order a teh tarik and watch world cup. Does this help eventually? Most probably not.
The ideal scenario would be go find and choose good partners to teh tarik rather than any Tom, Dick and Harry. We must be careful in choosing our teh tarik partners as the quality of discussion during the teh tarik session will be determined by the quality of the partners. Would you expect good discussion to arise from someone who don’t even know the subject well?
For example, if you want to find out more about health insurance packages for ladies. Would you just ask any Tom, Dick and Harry in the mamak stall? First ask around your close contacts or friends who have the best knowledge in this area. Then schedule a teh tarik session with the targeted partner(s). If not, your meeting with the other party could be just ranting around and junk talk.
Good Places for teh tarik session
Is the conventional mamak stall the best place to conduct a teh tarik session? Obviously no! The choice of places to teh tarik would be dependent on the topics of discussion. Recommendations are:-
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Less serious topics — if you are doing some fact finding you could just meet at mamak stall, old fashioned coffee shops, fast food restaurants (McDonald’s, KFC, etc.), new-generation kopitiams (OldTown, Station1, Starbucks, CoffeeBean etc.)
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More serious topics — if you are trying to negotiate or closing a deal or meeting a highly potential client, you could opt for a more decent, quiet restaurant where the ambience is more conducive. Of course not necessary an expensive place. The key is to find some place where both parties are able to concentrate and pay attention.
Remember, always look out for good teh tarik partners and good teh tarik places. This is habit #1 of highly effective teh tarik kakis. Be pro-active!
Tags: 7 habits, highly effective, pro-active, teh tarik, teh tarik kaki, teth tarik session
