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I find it disappointing when people tell me what they think I want to hear instead of being honest. Don't you feel the same way? Honesty is always the best policy and it's the one I prefer to deal with. For example, if I talk to a prospect who says they want to use my services, they just need to get their ducks in a row, and will get back to me in a day or two. In the interim I take steps to prepare for a new client and project. However, if in the end the prospect never calls or emails and, worse yet, they ignore my attempts at contacting them. How is that fair? Another example would be an acquaintance saying they're going to invite us over for dinner some day. That's a kind gesture, but they shouldn't just say it to sound kind. When they voice the idea, they should just go ahead and suggest a day. If there's no reason right now why they can't have us over, they shouldn't even mention it. How do you think that makes us feel? Yet another example is something we're going through right now. We're trying to find a forever home for a puppy we've come across. People shouldn't tell me they might take the puppy if they don't really want the puppy. If they say they're going to think about it and will call me tomorrow with an answer, they should do it. Otherwise me and everyone else who is trying to find a home for the puppy are focusing our energies in the wrong place. How is that helpful? Do you see why telling people what you think they want to hear is wrong on so many levels? You can't read other's minds so what gives you the right to believe you know what they really want to hear? And what happens if/when paths cross again in the future? Someone is going to feel awkward or uncomfortable. Personally, I would much prefer you tell me right up front what you're honestly thinking. By doing so you're giving me the information I need to move forward. I agree, it may not be in the direction I was hoping for, but it's so much better to be working on a viable possibility than to be banking on something that's never going to happen. So the next time you find yourself wanting to say something nice just to avoid hurting somebody's feelings, think about the short and long term implications. Then do the right thing and just be honest. It'll save everyone a lot of grief. DO WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE? You may as long as you let me know and include this blurb with it: 9/4/09 (C) Kimberly J. McCloskey, Professional Virtual Assistant, in her attempt to help all people improve their personal and professional productivity, shares her insight through her newsletter "Productive Pointers". Request your subscription at kimberly.j.mccloskey @ gmail.com or http://kimberlymccloskey.wordpress.com Kimberly Mc Closkey, Virtual Assistant 2009.
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give it to me straight, no sugarcoating, be honest, be straightforward,
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