It’s the most wonderful time of year. The time of gifts and presents galore. For most of us, this means that you also have to give people gifts, and if you’re not too good at gift giving, then this year is your own personal worst nightmare. In a press release from the 2014 Society for Personality and Social Psychology Annual Convention in Long Beach, California, researchers conducted a poll to find that people are becoming increasingly more and more picky about the gifts they receive. “Researchers Andong Cheng, Meg Meloy, and Evan Polman surveyed 7,466 Black Friday shoppers in 2013. They found that of the shoppers surveyed, 39% of the items they purchased were for individuals they considered ‘picky.’ While most of us may shop for a picky person in our lives, we know very little about how people cope with the challenge of shopping for a picky person.” No shock there right?
Now with that holiday season quickly approaching, your time to actually get these presents for your picky friends and family is slowly dwindling. Here is where we come in. Many would like to call themselves a gift giving expert, but it’s difficult to become the queen of presents. If you’re sick of the last minute scramble to try and find something that would be thoughtful without costing a mini fortune, then here are the two simple steps to becoming the best gift-getter.
Step 1: Just listen. People typically talk about the things they want or the things they need. Whether it be something as simple as “I could really use a new pair of headphones” or something larger like “I could really use another pair of shoes”. At one point or another they will absolutely say something, you just have to be listening for it to truly hear it. Tip: use the notes app in your phone to keep track of potential presents.
Step 2: It is super important to start paying attention to what people say pretty far in advance. This is so that they forget that they said something about whatever they wanted. It also gives you plenty of time to pick out and get the gift so you even have time to put your own spin on it.
It may seem overtly simple, but trust us, it works every time. People will be so surprised thats you got them a gift that they truly wanted!