Multitasking: It may make you stupid and it can make you rude.
Scenario:
A warm and wonderful friend called me. She was in her car traveling to a client and she had a question to ask. She began the conversation in an up and happy way and we were discussing an exciting new project when her tone altered, she quit making sense and I heard a muffled voice in the background. I stopped speaking and waited, after a short silence she said, “What? Oh, sorry I’m at a drive thru” and then she engaged in a short exchange with someone at a window.
Is this rude? What do you think?
This happens all the time with cell phones in automobiles. It’s rude to have two conversations at once.
Don’t go into a drive through when you are on the phone.
We got back on track and continued the conversation and she was just getting to the point of her call to me when there was another silence, another muffled voice in the background. It seems my friend was in yet another drive thru line – at a financial institution.
When she finally finished I asked “What are you doing?” in what I hoped was a light tone. “I needed to get these errands done before a client.” She explained. So I guess she decided to drag me along with her on the phone whether I wanted to go or not.
Before we hung up we reiterated how much we love each other, that we miss each other and promised to get together. But now after we have hung up I’m left feeling like my friend puts her errands ahead of a conversation with me since that’s exactly what she did. I don’t feel so great about the conversation nor the waste of my time. Bottom line: I don’t feel so good about this friend or our relationship.
I heard on the news last week that researchers are determining that multitasking is hurting our memories and making us stupid. Multitasking is also hurting relationships and making the person doing the multitasking rude.
Did my friend intend to insult me? I know she didn’t because she is a warm and wonderful person who really called to connect. We’ll move on with our relationship because that’s what friends do – however these minor infractions do add up. They do weaken connections, they do hurt feelings.
The lack of attention to a conversation, the waste of someone’s time, the feeling of unimportance the other person feels – all contribute to poor people skills which produce poor relationships.
What happens now? I move on, and use this exchange to learn never to do this to others. I also share it with you so that you don’t make this silly error with anyone. I also share to remind us both that the greatest gift we can give someone is our attention.
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Blessings,
& The Schuh Crew
Shawna Schuh, CSP
Helping Sales Professionals, Executives, and Service Teams profit through advanced people skills.
2421 Hwy 47 | Gaston, Oregon 97119 | 503-662-3044
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