Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is that when someone has to wait for you,
Speaker 1: thank them for their patience. This keeps things positive and
Speaker 1: focuses on the other person rather than you and whatever
Speaker 1: kept the person waiting. So inevitably we all keep others
Speaker 1: waiting on occasion, you may not log on for your
Speaker 1: eleven o'clock appointment until eleven oh three if you're ten thirty,
Speaker 1: ran a little late if you had to wait an
Speaker 1: unusually long time for the subway. You may arrive late
Speaker 1: to meet a friend for dinner. Your daughter may have
Speaker 1: to wait for your help with her math homework while
Speaker 1: you are dealing with a dramatic diaper situation with her
Speaker 1: little sibling. Despite our best efforts to be punctual and attentive,
Speaker 1: from time to time, we will all be late, or
Speaker 1: someone else will be early, and then they'll still have
Speaker 1: to wait for us. When you are running late, or
Speaker 1: if someone else has to wait for you, even if
Speaker 1: you are not actually late, consider thanking them for their patients.
Speaker 1: This does a few things. First, thanking them for their
Speaker 1: patience centers their experience. You are acknowledging that they waited,
Speaker 1: and you are assuming the best in them, namely that
Speaker 1: they showed patience, rather than thinking evil thoughts about you.
Speaker 1: You are not focusing on your own experience and how
Speaker 1: you're ten thirty always keeps you late for no reason whatsoever,
Speaker 1: or how everything went wrong on your subway line today.
Speaker 1: Even if those statements are true, the other person may
Speaker 1: feel annoyed if it seems like you're making excuses or
Speaker 1: blaming others instead of acknowledging your own lateness by thanking
Speaker 1: them for their patients, instead, you're focusing on how they
Speaker 1: were affected. Second, saying thank you for your patience is positive.
Speaker 1: You are not necessarily apologizing for being late because you
Speaker 1: may not even have been late. Perhaps there was a
Speaker 1: time range when you were expected and you arrived within it,
Speaker 1: or maybe the other person was early. Regardless of why
Speaker 1: the other person ended up waiting, By thanking them for
Speaker 1: their patients, you are focusing on something positive, their patience.
Speaker 1: When a person is thanked, the natural response is to
Speaker 1: feel good about what they have done and to say
Speaker 1: you're welcome. So by saying thank you for your patience,
Speaker 1: you end the waiting phase of this interaction and transition
Speaker 1: quickly to a positive connected phase. Of course, if you
Speaker 1: are more than a few minutes late, or if your
Speaker 1: delay seriously inconveniences the other person, you may need to
Speaker 1: apologize too. You might say thank you for your patience,
Speaker 1: I am so sorry my delay cut into our time together,
Speaker 1: or thank you for your patience, I'm sorry you had
Speaker 1: to wait for me. But even then, focusing on their
Speaker 1: experience and your appreciation is a good place to start.
Speaker 1: Paying attention to our language is a simple way to
Speaker 1: contribute to better relationships. The words you use to kick
Speaker 1: off your time with a friend or a colleague can
Speaker 1: shape your experience together. So why not give a little
Speaker 1: thought to starting off positive, even if you're starting a
Speaker 1: little late. In the meantime, this is Laura, Thanks for listening,
Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod
Speaker 1: that's b the number four then breakfast pod. You can
Speaker 1: also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcast at
Speaker 1: iHeartMedia dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out with
Speaker 1: all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to
Speaker 1: staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio.
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Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.