The most successful people I know are excellent at managing relationships. Everything they do is intended to strengthen trust and better serve their client’s needs. With all this in mind, I have a recommendation for you: STOP LOOKING AT YOUR PHONE!
Last summer my wife and I were visiting with a close friend of ours from Connecticut. He had an exciting idea he wanted to share and I immediately thought of something I could look up to augment what he was saying. I was playing with my smart phone trying to locate the link while he was still explaining his idea. He had to leave the room for a few minutes to take an urgent call. While he was out, my wife, who is normally soft-spoken, gave it to me with both barrels! She said, “Steve, that was rude of you to look at your phone while Jeff was sharing his idea”. I was tempted to make the usual lame excuses we use when we allow ourselves to be distracted by our cell phone. Instead, I followed my own coaching advice, and took ownership. I said, “You are right. I was rude. Thank you for pointing it out. I will apologize to Jeff”. When Jeff came in, it was no excuses, and no qualifying statements. I simply referred to what I did, and said, “Jeff, it was rude of me to to do that. I am sorry”. That was it. I was forgiven. I also learned a lesson I will never forget. “To strengthen trust and maintain strong relationships, give others your full attention. Don’t look at your phone. Show respect for the other person by not permitting yourself to be distracted by your phone”.
