Activity: Developing High Quality Connections

Read Scenario 1 again:

Janelle accepted your invitation for an information meeting. You have been looking forward to connecting with they/them because they/them works at an organization that you are curious about. It was decided that the meeting would be located at Janelle’s office. Once you’ve introduced yourselves and conversed for about 10 minutes, you notice this:

• How might you perceive and react to Janelle from a different vantage point?
• What are possible scenarios that Janelle could be experiencing? 

For example, what if Janelle was up all night with her son at the hospital, hadn’t slept, and was feeling stressed and worried?

Or, maybe Janelle feels like you did when Tom talked the entire time? Is Janelle bored of a non-stop monologue being 'told' at her?

What is one of the actions (below) that you could take to build a HQC and trust with Janelle, 

1. Take an interest in the person
2. Be consistent and reliable
3. Be present
4. Practice radical listening

How might you integrate this conscious way of thinking and being to future, real life situations?