WEBVTT - You work with people

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to remember that you work with people,

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<v Speaker 1>not email addresses or job descriptions. Remembering that will help

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<v Speaker 1>create more pleasant environments and you'll get things done more

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<v Speaker 1>smoothly too. It's easy to forget that almost every interaction

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<v Speaker 1>involves another person. This is particularly true for one time

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<v Speaker 1>interactions and when we're interacting remotely with people we've never

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<v Speaker 1>met in real life. When you call about your refrigerator delivery,

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<v Speaker 1>you just want to know when you need to be

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<v Speaker 1>home for the delivery and how much longer you'll be

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<v Speaker 1>eating takeout. When you email the I T helped us

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<v Speaker 1>get your workplace, you just want to see of your

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<v Speaker 1>printer problem. But sometimes you get a little bit more

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<v Speaker 1>than you are expecting. You may find out that the

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<v Speaker 1>appliance delivery scheduler is covering for a colleague and that

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<v Speaker 1>she just bought the same model refrigerator that you're having delivered.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometimes it's unclear what you're supposed to do with all this,

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<v Speaker 1>though it's probably preferable to the situation of getting no response.

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<v Speaker 1>You call the help desk and no one is there,

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<v Speaker 1>and so you're frustrated because I T is supposed to

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<v Speaker 1>help you do your job. If we're not careful, these

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<v Speaker 1>interactions can lead to us being rude, but that's usually

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<v Speaker 1>not helpful. What is helpful is recognizing that we work

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<v Speaker 1>with people. Almost everything eventually has a human being on

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<v Speaker 1>the other end, no matter how much people try to

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<v Speaker 1>automate things. By remembering this, we can at least be

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<v Speaker 1>in a better mindset about these interactions. There are a

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<v Speaker 1>few approaches that can help. First, pay attention to people's names.

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<v Speaker 1>You are often calling a person, and that person has

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<v Speaker 1>a name. It's not the main office at Anna's school,

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<v Speaker 1>it's Missus Watson. The receptionist Wayne, who manages mail and

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<v Speaker 1>deliveries in your building, is the one who needs to

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<v Speaker 1>let you know right away when the messenger delivers the document.

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<v Speaker 1>So it's Waine you need to talk to about it,

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<v Speaker 1>not the anonymous mail room. When we think of people

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<v Speaker 1>by name instead of by roll, we subtly shift from

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<v Speaker 1>an entirely transactional perspective what are they doing for me?

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<v Speaker 1>To a more relational perspective. Because it turns out that

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<v Speaker 1>Missus Watson and Waine, and even dispatch over the refrigerator

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<v Speaker 1>place if you don't know her name. All have real lives.

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<v Speaker 1>They have as much drama and joy in their lives

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<v Speaker 1>as anyone else, So learning a little bit about anyone

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<v Speaker 1>you interact with repeatedly can make any interaction more pleasant

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<v Speaker 1>and probably more productive. You might know that one person

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<v Speaker 1>is thrilled that her first grand baby is due next month,

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<v Speaker 1>and another person is fascinated by astronomy. Asking or commenting

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<v Speaker 1>on one little tidbit they care about can create a

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<v Speaker 1>moment of connection, even for one off interactions or what

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<v Speaker 1>you think will be a one off interaction. There is

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<v Speaker 1>no downside to remembering that you're dealing with an individual human.

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<v Speaker 1>Spend the moment marveling that the person scheduling your refrigerator

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<v Speaker 1>delivery is getting the same fridge as you. How wonderful.

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<v Speaker 1>There's a human reason for this. I mean, you just

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<v Speaker 1>made someone feel seen and heard. But there is also

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<v Speaker 1>a practical reason. Your fridge delivery may wind up earlier

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<v Speaker 1>in the day's run of show, and if you need

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<v Speaker 1>to call back about a problem, it is more likely

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<v Speaker 1>to get addressed. Lately, I have gotten a surprising number

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<v Speaker 1>of human beings responding to those info at email addresses.

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<v Speaker 1>It is helpful to remember that unless the business is

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<v Speaker 1>so huge that they have figured out perfect automation, info

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<v Speaker 1>is somebody. Even if I'm annoyed about a problem with

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<v Speaker 1>a product, it is not really the personal fault of

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<v Speaker 1>Terry who answers the info emails. I wouldn't scream at

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<v Speaker 1>Terry's face in real life, so it's best not to

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<v Speaker 1>send an email that does the equivalent to the human

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<v Speaker 1>being on the other end. And there is always the

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<v Speaker 1>chance that Terry might be more helpful with a customer

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<v Speaker 1>who doesn't come across as a terrible person. We don't

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<v Speaker 1>work with job descriptions or help desks or email addresses.

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<v Speaker 1>We work with people. Remembering that can create connection and

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<v Speaker 1>even the most mundane of moments in the meantime, This

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<v Speaker 1>is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the

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<v Speaker 1>most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear

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<v Speaker 1>from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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<v Speaker 1>or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's b E the

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<v Speaker 1>number four then Breakfast p O D. You can also

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<v Speaker 1>shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcasts at i

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<v Speaker 1>heeart media dot com that before Breakfast is spelled out

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<v Speaker 1>with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward

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<v Speaker 1>to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of

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<v Speaker 1>I heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,

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<v Speaker 1>visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

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<v Speaker 1>you listen to your favorite shows.