This week at work my work crew was
switched around. I was ended up working with
another girl and unfortunately I made her really upset. What did I do? Well I suggested that she do
the process a “better way”. I was light
hearted and didn’t mean it to be insulting, but sometimes I don’t think that
there is a right way to correct a person.
After I mentioned the “better way” she was visibly upset and said “The
way I have been doing it has been just fine.”
In communicating we need to be
tactful, but sometimes I feel as if there is no ‘right way’ to say something.
I do think it is important that we
work on saying things in the right way as to not insult people. It is an art, and to be good at it will make
for a happy life. Sometimes it may even
be best to not say anything at all, but where is that point then?
I am going to try to be better at
making suggestions or offers to help that will come across as less
demeaning. Also when others have to
correct me, I need to make sure I do not get offended myself.
Great points, Cameron. It can be very difficult to communicate differences in opinion. I have found that when I think about the alternative idea being presented by the other person and the outcome, it usually isn't as bad as I thought. Place yourself in their shoes. See the situation from their perspective. It usually doesn't turn out as bad as we originally thought. However, there are situations where the ideas being presented will have dire consequences, in this case, we should communicate that to the person by telling them what the result of their actions will be and what they think about that outcome. I think it helps when they realize the mistake they are making from their own perspective. That way, they will be more willing to try an alternative method.
ReplyDeleteI am really bad at this. One thing that has helped me is a job that I had parking cars in Las Vegas. I had to work with a lot of people that I had to correct, and I had to deal with many customers that were very demanding and rude. In this I learned that there is a very important and hard balance to find between being stern and being nice about it. I agree with Zac as well, if we put ourselves in their shoes it is a lot easier to find that balance.
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