Has someone ever asked you a question, but as you began to answer you realized they were not listening? It's frustrating when it happens because it sends the message that they don't really care. I used to have a boss that did it often. It caused me to stop taking the questions seriously.
What if I told you that we all do this everyday and it is time to stop. Well, we do! I do it and so do you.
In passing we ask someone "How are you?" They reply with "good, how are you?" Does either party really care? Are any of us prepared to stop and spend the time to really hear how the other person is doing? I am not saying that we simply do not care, but I do believe we need to rethink the question.
It's my view that this has become a greetings crutch. We use it as a passing "hello", but not as a genuine exchange. I absolutely think we should show concern for how others are doing, but only ask if we are prepared to really listen and engage.
My personal challenge is to always smile, acknowledge and make eye contact as to positively impact the people I meet. I am attempting to stop using the "crutch" of how are you unless I am really prepared to listen. When someone asks me how I am doing, I reply with "Great, I hope you are". For me it feels different and it might for you as well. Will you join me in changing the narrative?
Swagger On my friends!
Written by Derron Steenbergen, President of The Swagger Institute.
The Swagger Institute is a full service business development company specializing in sales training, motivational speaking, customer service training and organizational development.