What?
Kent Jacobson, a.k.a. "Mr. Sucess"

How aggravating is it when you are speaking to someone and the
first word out of their mouth is *What?*. My first reaction is
thinking the person was not even listening to anything I was
talking about or even paying attention to me.  Frustrating, oh my
yes and also a waste of time for you and anyone else involved.

If you are as I am, a person that values their time, there are
three tips that I can give you to prevent this type of encounter
from ever happening.

Tip # 1.  When you first engage a person, start out with an
introduction; initiate a hand shake or some other simple greeting
that makes the person engage you. What this 1st contact
engagement establishes is eye contact and gives you a sense of
whether this person is focused on you or potentially distracted
by someone or something else.

Note:  If the person is not interested, break off and move on. 
If you need to engage this person, do it at another time and try
again.

Tip # 2 Tell the person what the subject is you are going to
speak to them about.  Ask them if they understand, and if the
response is positive press on and keep eye contact. You can tell
if the person is maintaining eye contact that you’re the focus of
attention, just be cautious of not making the eye contact an
uncomfortable situation for them. Some people are not real
comfortable in prolonged eye contact.

Tip # 3 Depending on the situation and person, when the response
is *What?*, you can ask them a question to establish and
understand why they responded in this manner. Often when speaking
to someone, your tone or clarity may be the reason and it is mush
better to understand this before each of you get into a *What*
back and forth conversation. At times people can not hear certain
tones or thy may be nearing challenged, the better you understand
the person the easier it will be to continue the conversation and
it also makes the person fell as if you are paying attention to
them.

Remember conversation is a two way street, you must take charge
and establish the other persons listening level.  On the same
hand, check yourself to make sure you are not the *What* person! 
You are in charge of making your own successful way in this
world, embrace it.