Rainmaking Recommendation #53: What You Don’t Say May Speak Volumes

After an extremely long day with clients, I stopped by my local book store – it’s one of the ways I like to relax.   Yes, while I have ebook readers, and the ability to download books onto every device in the world, I am a bit old fashioned.  I love the feel of books, of turning pages, the actual smell.  I even have a public library card that I still use.

After perusing the store, I found what I was looking for and walked up to the counter to pay. There was a line – albeit a short line.  While waiting for my turn to pay, the entire day just seemed to overtake me and I just felt how tired I was; so I expelled a huge, involuntary, exhausted sigh.

The woman in front of me paying and the cashier both looked at me a bit crossly – I realized that that particular sigh may have come across not as an exhausted sound, but an impatient one.  When I walked up to the cashier I apologized and explained that it wasn’t about impatience but how tired I was.

The cashier was appreciative of my apology and totally understood.

The point of this is that what you don’t say can speak just as loud as what you do when people look through the lenses of their own experiences.  This cashier was used to people being impatient; particularly when there was a line of people waiting.

What are you saying to a client when you answer the phone with a curt or impatient attitude? Put yourself in their shoes.  While you may have just had a bad conversation with another client, the current client you are speaking with may think you are angry or annoyed with them.   Rolling your eyes, sighs, snorts, all of this can be as misconstrued as actual language.

Non-verbal communication can scream just as loud as a voice – and even more so when the interpretation is supplied by the person in front of you.

Rainmaking Recommendations are sent the first and third Wednesdays of the month.  They are bite size tips that when implemented will cause you to make rain. To learn more about Rainmaking, Goal Setting and Achieving the Life you want as an Attorney please contact Jaimie B. Field, Esq.