Welcome visitors.  So I’ve been using some of my free time during the lockdown updating my wordpress skills.  At the same time, I’ve been trying to communicate some of my thoughts with people.  I find that in today’s world people often don’t take the time and care to communicate respectfully with others.  This includes family, friends, colleagues, clients and service providers.  The usual excuse is that everyone is too busy.  However, I suspect that although some are still very busy, for many this is not currently the case.

Communicate respectfully

This morning I did a little experiment.  I took an example of a detailed invitation I had received from a colleague.  They had clearly taken the time to explain the invitation and why they were sending it to me.  I then wrote a simple reply, “No thanks but good luck”, which took me 7 seconds to type.  I followed this with a more detailed response extending my appreciation for the invitation, which took me 50 seconds.

Ask yourself, which of the 2 responses above would you rather receive?  It was instantly clear to me, the second one.  Why?  Because it demonstrated that the person had taken the time to listen to me and appreciated the value in what I was doing.  It demonstrates how to communicate respectfully.  On the other hand, the first response demonstrated none of this and quite frankly, was disrespectful.  Sadly, I get responses like the first one fairly regularly and I guess depending on my general state of mind, it can be quite hurtful.  Even worse however, is getting no response at all and sadly this too is not infrequent.  No-one likes to be ignored.

We are lucky to have the convenience of electronic communication nowadays but I urge you to consider the effects of not using it carefully and thoughtfully.  If you are genuinely too busy to respond “properly” to someone, don’t  simply ignore the person.  Take a few seconds to tell them that you will get back to them later when you have more time.  I don’t believe anyone who says they don’t have a few seconds to do this.  If you want to communicate respectfully you will find these seconds. https://lesleyburnsoccupationaltherapist.co.za/a-simple-phone-call/

RSVP

Being relatively new to the digital world, I am asking anyone who reads this just to let me know that they have read it. On this occasion, I’m not asking for detail.  I’m just trying to find out if my website is being seen other than by SEO service providers!  Having said that, do feel free to comment on the contents of this or any of my other blogs.

Take care.

Lesley

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