| Happy New Year! Let me share a funny story I heard over the holidays from a business colleague. I would like to set the stage: – A colleague had been driving what she would call a “beater” car for quite some time, and it did not have a lot of pick-up when it came to speed. – While out calling on clients with another colleague, the comment was made that “people drive so fast on the freeways.” Her colleague told her that if you drive in the “fast lane, you can drive at 85 MPH”. – Sometime this past year, the colleague driving the older car purchased a new one and was pulled over by the police. – When the officer asked her if she knew why he pulled her over, she did not. The officer told her she was speeding. He asked her how fast she was going, and she gave him the answer but also explained that she was not going over the speed limit, since in the “fast lane, the speed limit is 85 MPH”. The officer was dumbfounded by her statement and asked her if she was serious, and she explained what her fellow colleague had told her. -He shook his head, wrote the ticket and then came back and said he did write it for 85 MPH to save her some money because she was going faster than that. – Of course, my colleague was embarrassed and has since learned that the speed limit signs mean all lanes…LOL! In speaking with her, I asked her if she learned anything from this. She explained that she probably needs to ask more questions when someone tells her something because not everyone hears things the same way. This reminded me of something a mentor of mine taught me many years ago. Do you communicate clearly? In my opinion, there are two parts to this question: – A communicator is “a person who conveys information or knowledge to others.” – A “good listener” is “a person who listens attentively and sympathetically.” He said that when you have a conversation with someone where you need to explain something (whether it is about your services, a situation, a product, etc.) and the person you are speaking with is nodding in agreement, you should ask three more questions so they can tell you what they think you explained and also clear up any misunderstandings that could result in such an explanation in the future. This is just that reminder to stay sharp on communication skills! |
