The other day, I was talking to a client on the phone at work. He said he wanted to send me an email. That's nothing out of the ordinary, but what surprised me was what happened next. He admitted to me that he couldn't talk to me and send the email at the same time. I agreed to wait a minute on the phone while he sent the email. After that, we continued our conversation.
What struck me about this experience was the fact that he could recognize and admit that he couldn't do two things at once. In today's fast-paced environment of constant connectivity, it seems like we are all expected to be able to do at least two things at once. Whether we admit it or not, we don't always do two or more things at once AND do them all well. I can name more than one instance of being in a face-to-face conversation with someone and having to compete with that person's phone for attention. I can't say I enjoy that. I start to feel like I'm the intrusion instead of the phone. If I feel like I'm intruding, the conversation won't last long. Call me old-fashioned, but I like to have someone's full attention during a conversation. Doesn't everyone?
I'm with you, Jane. Yes, I prefer to have someone's full attention - whether it's a business meeting or a social event! Kudos to your colleague for being clear on singletasking. Thanks for this post.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciated this one. I'm not a multitasker, either. In fact, I get teased because I can barely walk and talk simultaneously. I simply want to concentrate on one thing at a time. I also think that if you are already in a face to face conversation with someone the phone can wait.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments, ladies.
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