I confess...sometimes I feel like an explorer on a new planet. I watch people and am fascinated by them and I think I understand them, but I have trouble translating that into interacting with them. To be clear (READ THIS ANY POTENTIAL EMPLOYERS), this is Social Me...Work Me has a task and is representing more than just ME and Work Me does fine.
I think part of the issue is that I communicate differently than many people. I don't feel the need to say too much and I like to be able to really think before I speak. I form my thoughts before I voice them rather than working them out as I speak. I know where I'm going. And, I'll admit, I get frustrated with folks who don't. Not because they are in any way inferior, but because I just don't relate. I get frustrated with people grasping for a word or finding their way to the end of the sentence during a pause rather than in advance. I know this is my issue, not theirs. But I still get impatient.
I also really like the RIGHT word. Which can mean I'm quiet while I find it. And that I sometimes get confused when people misspeak because I am truly listening to the specific words and need clarification. It also explains why I like to write more than speak and why phones can be a bit scary (AGAIN, NOT AN ISSUE FOR WORK CHERYL, IN CASE YOU WONDERED). Actually, I write pretty quickly but I'll go back to fix a single word to fit better. It is not about grammar, especially in blog-land where I rarely go back...it is about the perfect words. I get frustrated when I can't put my finger(s) on the word I want. Right now, I'm annoyed that I can't say "le mot juste" with one English work.
I think my communication style also plays into, but doesn't fully account for, my social nerves (I think that's a better word than anxiety for this instance). I get nervous in conversation, especially one-on-one. I do think quickly (modest, huh??) but I can't always verbalize immediately. I know I fall back on some less than ideal traits to compensate. I often throw in a "me too" story because I want something to say and I want to be a part of the conversation. I worry this comes off as one-upmanship. I don't intend it as such and hope you'll forgive it.
AND ANY FUTURE EMPLOYERS SHOULD KNOW I'M AWESOME WHEN I'M TALKING FOR THEM AS EMPLOYEE ME. REALLY. YOU SHOULD HIRE ME. Now, please.
3 comments:
well articulated
I'm the same way on just about every point you make. (I still despise phones, even at work.) Since college, though, I've gone from careful prethought to the poor on-the-fly method that you find so annoying. Sometimes a word comes out of my mouth that is so completely wrong that I'm actually too befuddled or amused to be horrified. (Saturday's was the word "garage" instead of "guitar.") Remind me to be practice being careful next time we talk.
not sure if you'll read this reply, but i think oddly garage/guitar would bother me MUCH less than words that are closer in meaning but just the wrong choice...not hitting a great example right now other than implied/inferred.
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