This one resonates with me so Im posting it here to! Here it is…that post that is the parent in me giving you our youth a wake up call. A little Convo 101 if you will. Let’s see if you take it all in. These are life long tips that we should all try to follow. You know the old saying “You have to earn respect to receive it.” It’s a bit skewed. It’s a part of society that has been tainted with negative experience and has lost sight of the golden rule….do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Let’s put the pessimist aside and say we choose to follow that rule. 1. Make eye contact- It shows that you are hearing the person talking to you and have a respect for what they have to say. You may not like it or agree but you are respecting their moment to give the feedback they are wanting you to receive. That doesn’t mean take a quick glimpse and then wander off in to la la land. It means hold that eye contact throughout the conversation. 2. Respond- What a novel idea! Conversations are a 2 lane highway. When I say something, and you are listening, your response should come fairly quickly after. example: “Susie, how was your day at school?” (Insert response here) What you don’t want to do is lack in eye contact or your response. 2 things will happen: a) You will not make eye contact and seem uninterested and my inference to that is that you are not wanting to share or communicate with me and I will stop asking. b) You will give me that blank stare that some teenagers give when asked questions and my inference will be that again you are not wanting to communicate or don’t find my feedback relevant. The good thing is, that if it’s your parents, their response never changes our genuine want to know about your day and or communicate with you. It may make us frustrated and want to pull our hair out but we love you unconditionally. On the flip side if you do that to your principal, your coach, whatever person in that moment that is taking an interest in you or guiding you, you chip away pieces of communication and respect. Take a minute to process that…..My lack of response says something! Again really taking in the idea that my ACTIONS and BEHAVIORS can make a difference. It’s a cause and effect. So the moral of the story is, listen to your parents. Listen to them and HEAR them. Listen to all the “remember your manners”, “the yes ma’am s and the no sir’s”, “the pay attention”. We are prepping you for a world that isn’t informed about the personality that is you. A world that changes from principals’ and coaches to professors and employers. A world that will take your behavior and not consider the good kid you are 90% of the time. This world has a million other good kids they interact with. Don’t let your relaxed view on communicate be the moment they decide to not invest in you. Don’t let society’s relaxed view of morals and behaviors shape you. The world needs more people that stand up and say I will be better. #standupandstandtall #bethechange Share this: TwitterFacebook8Google
Posted on: Thu, 25 Sep 2014 15:57:18 +0000