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Dear ,
I'm not exaggerating:
Yesterday I was running late for an appointment... so I ran out of my house and was about to jump into my car when a neighbor comes out of nowhere and ...
Practically Attacks Me!
He wanted to tell me all about his son's first year at college -- his experience away from home, his roommate drama, the homesickness, and so forth.
And while I am normally very friendly with this neighbor, and would typically be very interested in hearing all about it, I was very visibly late for my appointment (which is something I HATE -- I always like to be early) -- checking my watch, trying to wrap up the conversation, fiddling with my keys, and basically giving every sign in the book that...
I Was Late!
However, this gentleman wouldn't relent. He kept talking and talking and I kept trying to bail out as politely as possible.
Finally, after about 5 or 6 minutes (at least), I simply had to tell him that I was late for an appointment at the office. And I drove away.
My point today is it's not unusual for people to engage in extended conversation without taking notice of the other person's time constraints or body language. We probably all do it at one point or another.
People get so engrossed in what they're saying that they totally miss any clues the other person is giving about the conversation.
The reason why this is important is because the more in-tune you are with the other person, the more welcome you'll be in conversation. However, if you overstay your conversational welcome or aren't sensitive to someone's body language, their tolerance for the conversation will eventually expire. And that's never a good thing.
So My Advice is...
If you know yourself to be something of a chatterbox, fine-tune your radar to notice when it's time to cut the conversation short. Be attentive to your surroundings, people's body language -- what they say and DON'T say.
I guarantee you, this is one of these situations where less is more.
I know this is a somewhat delicate topic, but it's an important one because it can affect all aspects of your life.
Reminder:
Our South Florida Mixer is THIS Thursday, June 13th. Please go here to register and reserve your free admission ticket. The only thing you have to cover at the Marriott is your own tab:
The website to register is:
If you have any comments, ideas or suggestions, please email me at: nader@copticchamber.com.
