A curious thing happened to me today.
It was during a telephone conversation with a prospective customer, towards the end of the call, having enjoyed a fairly pleasant conversation, I recited back the contact number she had given to me earlier on in the call, to make sure I had written it down correctly; "07912...
576...
740" I quoted.
"NO!" she barked at me.
I was quite taken aback, they way she angrily reacted was as if I had spoken pure blasphemy.
So I asked what the correct number was.
"079...
125...
767...
40" she answered.
It was the exact same number I had given her.
I hadn't given her the wrong number at all; my mistake was in dictating the number back in a different order and sequence to the way she had it memorized.
It was the same number but because she had committed it to memory a in certain way, when I said it sounded unfamiliar to her, even to the point she thought it was a totally inaccurate number.
I felt like pointing out her mistake but being a slightly more tactful salesman, realising people don't like to be proven wrong or corrected, I thought better of it and bit my tongue.
I finished off the call politely and all was well.
The lesson learned? People see things strictly from their own point of view and their point of view only.
I mused over the incident, I was reminded of that part in Dumb and Dumber, when Harry gets a date, the girl says to him "why don't you pick me up at about 7:45?" to which Harry replies "Hmm, that's a little early why don't we make it quarter to 8?" If there were four people stood around the statue of liberty at different compass points North, East, South and West, they would all give you a slightly different account of what they could see, even though they were all observing the same statue.
Someone looking from out of an aeroplane window would give an entirely different description altogether.
Nothing is set in stone; it really does depend upon ones point of view.
Empathy .
All the best communicators are aware of this crucial element of inter-personal dealings.
The foremost salesperson, popular political leaders, the priest with the highest attending congregation, the united married couple, all of these have an understanding of this valuable concept that the human ego only very seldom thinks about.
Those who often take this into consideration and make good use of it have probably learned to use it the hard way.
Too many arguments, offended too many people etc, was the author's reason for searching for a better way.
I found that stepping out of my selfish mindset and into the minds of another worked wonders for maintaining and securing satisfying relationships.
A person's view point may be a mixture of their history, social background, culture, religion, race, gender, age, beliefs and all manner of factors may contribute as to why a person has judged a situation a certain way.
Try to be more mindful and consciously aware of this when treating another human being.
The ability to have empathy with another human being, to be inside their head and see it through their eyes is a liberating skill which will yield you many agreeable results.
Take into consideration factors from their past which may affect why they see things as they do, see the situation from their angle and to be able consider their desired outcome is the key to unlocking their heart and cooperation.
It opens the way for thriving family relationships, prosperous friendships, contented customers and effective leadership.
In any given circumstance where you may differ with someone, seek first to sincerely understand things from their point of view.
You will either discover, that they were right all along or if you still think your point is valid, then you will be more equipped to present your opinions in a manner that that may make sense to them which will result in either a compromise or maybe completely persuade them over to your way of thinking.
It really doesn't matter, what matters is both parties are both left happy.
Try experimenting with this right away; it will enhance your everyday interactions with your fellowmen dramatically.
It was during a telephone conversation with a prospective customer, towards the end of the call, having enjoyed a fairly pleasant conversation, I recited back the contact number she had given to me earlier on in the call, to make sure I had written it down correctly; "07912...
576...
740" I quoted.
"NO!" she barked at me.
I was quite taken aback, they way she angrily reacted was as if I had spoken pure blasphemy.
So I asked what the correct number was.
"079...
125...
767...
40" she answered.
It was the exact same number I had given her.
I hadn't given her the wrong number at all; my mistake was in dictating the number back in a different order and sequence to the way she had it memorized.
It was the same number but because she had committed it to memory a in certain way, when I said it sounded unfamiliar to her, even to the point she thought it was a totally inaccurate number.
I felt like pointing out her mistake but being a slightly more tactful salesman, realising people don't like to be proven wrong or corrected, I thought better of it and bit my tongue.
I finished off the call politely and all was well.
The lesson learned? People see things strictly from their own point of view and their point of view only.
I mused over the incident, I was reminded of that part in Dumb and Dumber, when Harry gets a date, the girl says to him "why don't you pick me up at about 7:45?" to which Harry replies "Hmm, that's a little early why don't we make it quarter to 8?" If there were four people stood around the statue of liberty at different compass points North, East, South and West, they would all give you a slightly different account of what they could see, even though they were all observing the same statue.
Someone looking from out of an aeroplane window would give an entirely different description altogether.
Nothing is set in stone; it really does depend upon ones point of view.
Empathy .
All the best communicators are aware of this crucial element of inter-personal dealings.
The foremost salesperson, popular political leaders, the priest with the highest attending congregation, the united married couple, all of these have an understanding of this valuable concept that the human ego only very seldom thinks about.
Those who often take this into consideration and make good use of it have probably learned to use it the hard way.
Too many arguments, offended too many people etc, was the author's reason for searching for a better way.
I found that stepping out of my selfish mindset and into the minds of another worked wonders for maintaining and securing satisfying relationships.
A person's view point may be a mixture of their history, social background, culture, religion, race, gender, age, beliefs and all manner of factors may contribute as to why a person has judged a situation a certain way.
Try to be more mindful and consciously aware of this when treating another human being.
The ability to have empathy with another human being, to be inside their head and see it through their eyes is a liberating skill which will yield you many agreeable results.
Take into consideration factors from their past which may affect why they see things as they do, see the situation from their angle and to be able consider their desired outcome is the key to unlocking their heart and cooperation.
It opens the way for thriving family relationships, prosperous friendships, contented customers and effective leadership.
In any given circumstance where you may differ with someone, seek first to sincerely understand things from their point of view.
You will either discover, that they were right all along or if you still think your point is valid, then you will be more equipped to present your opinions in a manner that that may make sense to them which will result in either a compromise or maybe completely persuade them over to your way of thinking.
It really doesn't matter, what matters is both parties are both left happy.
Try experimenting with this right away; it will enhance your everyday interactions with your fellowmen dramatically.
Source...