Communication 101

I was in an interview a few weeks ago for a potential new job.  I was speaking with my 4th interviewer of the day and we were about 20 mins into conversation, when she looks up at me and says rather bluntly, "you sure have an odd path, and I don't know how you ended up here...."

Up until this point I thought things were going VERY well, but I didn't know how to react to her statement.  It was NOT a question, and not being one to hide my emotions very well, I am sure she could see the look of shock right across my face.  Now, I will be the first to tell you that my path is by no means straight.... I have had some extremely interesting jobs.... but it is MY path, it has not been boring, and I am quite proud of it.  She didn't even give me an opportunity to explain it, it was pure judgement of my journey and how I have arrived at where I am today. 

Last Friday I was at a conference my work was sponsoring, it was called, "Communication Conundrum".  Not surprisingly it was about how we communicate and how we can do it better.  The one rule that the keynote speaker kept coming back to was listening.  I thought back to my interview and how she never even wanted to listen to my story.  It was frustrating that she was very quick to tell me her opinion and not give me the opportunity to explain. 

I am not always the best communicator... and I am often the one telling the story (typically a long-winded one with lots of details, a trait I inherited from my dad), so often I forget that I need to stop and simply listen.

And I would like to give a very, very big THANK YOU to all of you in my life who repeatedly listen to my long-winded, crazy, detailed stories and supported by very curvy path!

xoxo,
KWS