With clients and colleagues, I've got it down. See, one of the things I like to discern early on in a relationship is where the client is most likely to listen and respond. Are they a phone person? Do they prefer email? Will reaching them through gChat allow space for a decision to be made quickly? It doesn't matter so much to me which communication mode they prefer. What matters is that they are clear in their request and that I then honor their preferred method of communicating. After all, I do want efficiency and results.
So, why didn't I think this same question would be relevant with dating?
OK, so I'm dating a few guys now. And I experienced a bit of miscommunication and frustration this weekend vis-a-vis preferred communication technologies. (No missed dates, but some stumbles that almost made this happen.)
One guy wants phone calls and voicemail messages Not just phone, but land line, at home. I once emailed him a note and he somehow missed it and didn't find my message 'til three weeks later! Yeesh.
Another guy is all about the text. Chime, chime, chime goes my cel phone. Text message, text message, text message. It's fun, but I've actually had to ask that he meet me in my realm a bit more, as I'm a bit clumsy with the text messaging.
Yet another guy is making his moves via Twitter.
Last summer, I dated a guy where most of our primary communication technology was Facebook: status updates, wall posts and the FB inbox.
Again, I'm cool with the various communication tools and options. I just realized this morning that I have to apply the same understanding I use with my clients to the dating scene. Works for me.
Very astute, Jessie! I'm going to put that into practice as well -- thanks for sharing the wisdom.
Posted by: Emily from long ago | November 11, 2008 at 10:22 PM