“The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction.” Rachel Carson
I’m not one to focus all of my attention on just one thing. I can’t do that. You see, I’m a multi-tasker. It’s so hard for me to just do one thing at a time. When I watch TV I have to have a magazine to thumb through or a game to play on my iPad. When I eat dinner I prefer to have a really good conversation with my family or read the newspaper. When I drive I’m analyzing things or checking out some new music I put on my iPod. No, I can’t do just one thing at a time.
And it makes it hard for me to focus. People think I’m not giving them my undivided attention. Well, they might be right, but they’d be wrong.
If I don’t do more than one thing I can’t concentrate. My mind will wonder into all kinds of things that doesn’t have anything to do with what is right in front of me. In fact, most of the time when I am focusing the hardest I am doing all kinds of other things.
I went to a seminar one time on customer service telephone techniques. Included in the seminar was a session on dealing with irate callers. Now, having become a customer service telephone professional I knew all about dealing with irate callers. You have to listen to them. And you have to let them talk. If you don’t, you won’t ever get to the root of what they want and you won’t ever get them off of the phone. And they’ll call back. Again and again.
In dealing with irate callers, you have to give them your undivided attention. You have to focus. Really focus. You have to listen to every word they say and when they are done talking you have to find out what they want you to do. Most of them don’t want anything other than someone to listen to them. That’s you.
The seminar leader explained that you have to plant both feet on the ground. You have to sit up straight. And you have to prepare yourself to listen. Taking notes is fine but you are not to utter a word. The minute you say something they have to start all over. You don’t say a word until they expect you to say a word.
I have found, over the years, that when I am in that stance, I have to be doing something. I have to play games. You are sitting there going “what!?!”
Yep, I have to play games. You see, games are mindless. I could play some of them in my sleep. And if I am playing games then my mind is open to hear what is going on. There’s this one game that I play that I could play game after game after game while I am on the phone and I wouldn’t be able to tell you what my score was in any of those games. I don’t need to know. That’s not the point of playing those games at that time. The point is that I am listening. And in listening then I am prepared to hear everything my caller is saying so that I can be prepared when it’s my turn to talk.
There are times I have to force myself to play games. Sometimes I may be in the middle of doing something else and I really want to finish that. I think I can finish that while I’m talking on the phone. But I can’t because I have to give that person my undivided attention.
Surely, you have found a way to give someone the attention they deserve. If you haven’t, let me suggest a mindless game of your choosing. You won’t be sorry.
Oh, but you might want to tell your boss what you’re doing so that he doesn’t think that you’re just goofing off.