In life, you have to successfully work with people to get anywhere. You can't avoid it.
Some people are fun, good, and wholesome, and others can feel like a thorn in your shoe. Some will be there to boost you up and be a savior, and others will be there to take advantage of you, sometimes without the slightest care.
There is absolutely no way to lead a successful life without effective communication with those who can help you reach your goals. And the secret to effective communication is to fully understand-or at least try to understand-the other person's perspective. Understanding the other person's perspective helps you build camaraderie, negotiate faster and more effectively, add value to a partnership, and build respect for each other. To communicate effectively, you've got to be on the same page as the other person.
I came home to my apartment one day after class. As usual, I changed into a T-shirt and slipped out of my pants, tying a lavalava around my waist. A lavalava is a brightly colored, flowery cloth wrap or skirt that Polynesian men and women wear, usually with nothing on underneath but underwear. I previously lived in the Samoan islands for two years and grew accustomed to wearing a lavalava to beat the humid, tropical heat. During any scorching summer, a lavalava is one of the best types of personal air conditioning systems available, despite the fact that it is rarely found fashionable on a white American male like me.
Relaxing in the coolness of my apartment and having finished dinner and a night snack, I began to prepare to go to bed just as my roommate Don came home. Don was a long-time friend, but had recently moved in with me and another good friend.
"Hey Donaldo!" I chirped my nickname for Don as I slipped my ultra-thick retainer in my mouth.
"Hey Pablo!" Donaldo responded, likewise referring to his nickname for me. I saw him glance at the colorful flash of cloth around my waist. Donaldo was somewhat new to the concept of a lavalava.
But what was stranger to Donaldo was my thick plastic retainer that I usually wore only while sleeping. And with it in my mouth acting like a loose plug, it was extremely difficult to talk coherently. It piqued Donaldo's interest as we exchanged a bit of small talk. Small talk was challenging for me as I sought to find different ways to place my tongue while forming words.
"So do you like wearing that?"
"Sure I do!" I enthusiastically garbled, thinking he was referring to my lavalava he noticed earlier.
Donaldo walked to the kitchen to grab a bite to eat while I settled down on the couch for a little reading. Don popped his head around the corner.
"Is it comfortable?" Don suspiciously asked, clearly confused at my apparent excitement to wear a cumbersome retainer.
"Of course it's comfortable!" I mangled a response, not sure how Donaldo could mistake the advantages of a free-blowing, ventilated lavalava in the privacy of one's home.
"And you wear it at night?"
"Yes, but sometimes it falls off in bed."
That sounded a little odd to Donaldo. Does Paul sometimes wake up with the retainer patiently waiting on the pillow, to be plopped back in his mouth? Don waited for his burrito to finish cooking in the microwave. Then he probed further.
"Do you have to clean it much?"
"Yeah, it gets dirty every now and then."
Dirty every now and then? Uck! If Donaldo had to wear a retainer every night, he would have been sure to religiously and thoroughly clean it on a regular basis.
"How long have you had it?"
"Oh, about five years. Do you like it?" I asked, starting to feel a little flattered. I can't say that a lot of people found a lavalava to be the most chic apparel for a straight guy, although I did know some people from my past who wanted to wear one anyway. I often gave away extra lavalavas as gifts.
I stood up and walked into the kitchen to sense if he was willing to be converted to wearing a lavalava. I sat down across Don at the dinner table. "Maybe I have a spare one you can have if you'd like," I volunteered, hoping to further the cause of Americans wearing lavalavas in my corner of the world.
"Oh, no," Donaldo quickly replied, "I mean, thanks, but that's okay, I don't need one." With his dinner in front of him, Don was beginning to lose his appetite at the thought of putting someone else's spare, rarely cleaned retainer in his mouth.
"So why do you like wearing it?" Don asked, reluctantly taking a bite of his burrito.
"Oh, it feels really comfortable, especially when the wind blows." I responded frankly.
"So you open your mouth when the wind blows?" Donaldo asked starting to feel genuinely confused.
I chuckled at the ridiculousness of his question. I mean, why would you open your mouth when the wind blows through your lavalava?
"Well I suppose I might want to open my mouth to laugh if it were ticklish," I joked.
Ticklish? Don started to feel like maybe he had underestimated the uplifting experience of wearing a retainer.
But then I began to wonder if he was trying to offend me, like asking if I was full of hot air that blew out whenever I spoke. Rather than let Donaldo see that I was bristled by his insulting comment, I brushed it off and changed the subject.
"How is it going with your new girlfriend?" I asked.
"Good. Fine," Don chewed his food pensively, still trying to piece things together. He still could not see how cold air blowing on a retainer might cause someone to feel so pleasantly comfortable. Several moments passed.
"Back to what we were talking about," Don continued, "Are there other ways to feel good while wearing that thing?"
I began to feel uneasy at the increasingly private questions. I tried even harder to change the subject back to Don's girlfriend, "Hey, I'll tell you what, I will give one of these to your girlfriend. It should look pretty on her. She'll love it-most women do."
This floored Donaldo. He spit out his last burrito bite, thoroughly disgusted and offended at my proposition that a thick retainer would make his sweetheart look more attractive. He also wondered if I was threatening to embarrass him and scare off his new love interest with whatever level of gruesome detail I could throw Donaldo's way, me being the "weird and gross roommate" that people would do best to avoid.
As his eyes narrowed in anger against me, a startling thought hit Donaldo, causing him to pause for a moment as he contemplated our dialogue. We stared at each other in deafening silence.
"What are you talking about?" he asked.
"Well, my lavalava of course!" I exclaimed, beginning to sense a brain cramp that had been active for the past 15 minutes.
"I was talking about your retainer!" Donaldo cried, feeling sudden relief sweep over him as our entire conversation finally began to make sense.
We burst out a hearty laugh at our miscommunication as Donaldo finally agreed to accept a lavalava of his own, as a gift from me.
To this day, we still enjoy recounting how confused we were with each other that evening. Just in those 15 minutes, we learned so much about how listening can affect a friendship, either for good or ill, and can clear up or exaggerate misunderstandings.
Different cultures and backgrounds always seem funny or odd to those who did not grow up in them. Effective listening pulls down those barriers to understanding. Listening is an art you can master, and once you do, the rewards are ten-fold.
And? you get a better friend in the process.
Paul Pulley is the author of The Anatomy of a Brain Cramp. His other short stories that humorously teach about the laws of success in life can be found at his website http://www.thebraincramp.com
It is important for you to join at least one... Read More
One of the best ways to get business is through... Read More
You approach a stranger at an association meeting or industry... Read More
How do you measure a group's worth to your organization?It... Read More
Thought of the WeekThis week, I'd like to challenge you... Read More
Q: I think I understand the value of networking as... Read More
Hospitality relates to the Latin term philoxenia, or "the love... Read More
Most people become lax at maintaining their professional business network... Read More
Good manners, good networking and good business all have the... Read More
Most of us remember the commercial that said, "I told... Read More
The heart of any business is the connection it has... Read More
It's a classic mistake by networkers: their approach is focused... Read More
Networking is one of the most important skills a person... Read More
The most important reasons people exhibit at a trade show?... Read More
Successful networking requires the understanding from the get-go that it... Read More
"What me? Sell myself? You have to be joking!"This was... Read More
"Hey Scott, would you like to go to a Bad... Read More
The festive season is a great time to sharpen and... Read More
How can the introduction of new products affect the way... Read More
Effective business promotion is more powerful than advertising. Using golf... Read More
For years we've been taught to identify ourselves as reps... Read More
What is the problem when people try to describe what... Read More
What is the biggest advantage of forming an alliance?Everyone has... Read More
The StoryIn a quest to create strategic alliances, coalitions, and... Read More
Douglas Wilder, former Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and... Read More
When it comes to quality, how do you choose the... Read More
What is "the top" anyway? According to society, "top" has... Read More
Let's be real. With other pressures of life upon us,... Read More
Networking: Is it who you know or what you know... Read More
Generating new business leads is critical in your success, no... Read More
What do you tell people when asked what you do?... Read More
People like others whom they are like. So if you... Read More
"Instead of a handshake, I gave Toby a high-five to... Read More
My husband and I tried an experiment one night. We... Read More
Let's test your knowledge on networking:1)The best definition of networking... Read More
If you're in a business relationship with anyone ? a... Read More
First of all I would like to start this article... Read More
If you have been in business for any amount of... Read More
How many leads do you pass on?As a reminder, you... Read More
Recently, while providing an up-and-coming Virtual Assistant (VA) and small... Read More
Small businesses are really excluded from the global economySmall businesses... Read More
I grew up in a household where saying thank you... Read More
It used to be that people said that there was... Read More
Commandment 1LoveWhen we choose to simply love, our giving and... Read More
The process of finding out about a job, getting interviewed,... Read More
People wear nametags more often than you think. The majority... Read More
If you're fond of a good debate, you know how... Read More
Networking is often identified as a key business building activity... Read More
I recently entered the keyword "networking" into Google. In 0.13... Read More
Many people associate alcohol with relaxation and fun, so it... Read More
June is reality check month. Lots of the resolutions have... Read More
One of my clients shared a story with me from... Read More
Networking requires an investment of time, money and effort. Here... Read More
You see him from across the room. You know him,... Read More
While surfing for traffic or browsing your safelist emails, you... Read More
"Fear not to entertain strangers for by so doing some... Read More
Ever use someone else to get your message out?For example,... Read More
Generating new business leads is critical in your success, no... Read More
"What me? Sell myself? You have to be joking!"This was... Read More
You only have three seconds?Connect in under a minute?People decide... Read More
Q: I think I understand the value of networking as... Read More
"It's not what you know, it's who you know."This old... Read More
Success in your career depends upon how well you manage... Read More
Networking is probably the oldest, easiest, most effective and least... Read More
Why the business card grab is not why you are... Read More
Before we talk about specific networking tips I want to... Read More
Networking |