So here's a true story...
Today I was in the office, and someone came up to me and said, "put on your mask!". A stranger, a guy I don't know.
I acknowledged him and later on, I just knocked on his door and I said, "Hey, I want to talk to you a little bit more, you asked me to put on the mask, I know you were coming from a place of wanting to help. I mean, otherwise, you wouldn't have mentioned it. Because you don't want me to get sick. You don't want me to spread it to others. So I get that you're coming from a good place. Let me hear your point of view as to why it's important?".
He told me and I said I really understood him. And then I said, "I mean, I have kind of a different idea on it. I don't know if you want to hear about it?". He said yes, and we just got to talking.
I told him my ideas and I didn't sugarcoat them. I listened to him and he listened to me and we had a conversation about it.
There were no emotions, there was no be belittling. On these Facebook debates, I see people just going at it with each other where it's not about facts anymore, it becomes about some belittling actions.
In this particular conversation, it was constructive. The idea was genuinely to understand one another. And say, you have one point of view, I have another, we both want to help each other. Maybe we can expand.
When that's the level of conversation... by the end I ended up talking to this guy for an hour and a half in the middle of my workday when I have plenty to do. We just got into this whole conversation and it went off-topic into other interesting things. Turns out he's a trainer, business coaching and leadership, that type of training. He told me about how he teaches people and I told him my ideas. We discussed what is responsibility? What is right and wrong? All kinds of stuff.
At the end of it, he said to me, "You know I can't remember the last time I've had such a good conversation. You left me speechless a few times, you asked me questions that I really didn't know the answer of, I learned from you. And not only that but never has it happened that I complained to someone and ended up having the best conversation ever. So thanks for that". And I said, No, man, it was really a pleasure talking to you and we grew.
What's my message here?
You have different viewpoints, don't belittle, don't get emotional, talk facts, help each other.
Have a healthy conversation. You might expand, maybe you'll grow in your thinking, they might expand.
At the end of the day, you will help each other and maybe make a new friend.
Try it out. Keep the communication good. I think that it'll help!
Gal Ezra,
Managing Director,
Empower Funding