Tag: communication
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Lessons in Empathy from Automattic Silent Disco
Silent Disco was among my highlights of this year’s Automattic Grand Meetup. I had a fantastic time dancing to the sets of our talented colleagues. Coincidentally, I was also among the people who couldn’t sleep that night because of the very same Silent Disco. My room was on the 7th floor of the 8-story dome stretching […]
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Are you sure you’re solving the right problem?
How do you know it? When chatting with clients, I often think I wrote a perfect summary of what they just said, ask “Is this what is happening?”, and get a “lol, no. you got it all wrong”. Well, at least I found out 5 minutes into talking to them rather than 50. In the world […]
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The magnificent elephant
There’s something intimidating about meeting an elephant. It’s not just about her size, even though she could easily crush you under her feet if she wanted to. It’s mostly because of their confidence. They look so calm, patient, and self-contained, that approaching these magnificent animals you can’t help but show some reverence and respect. Tonight […]
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Don’t be afraid of saying “no”. Sometimes it’s the best thing you can do.
I used to have an irrational fear of saying “no”. I felt responsible for everyone’s feelings, and for making sure no one is upset. Any situation where I had to confront someone and tell them something is not possible, or that I’m not going to help them, would cause me dread and anxiety. Working in […]
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When you want to say sorry, try saying ‘thank you’
What’s the first thing you do when someone is sad or upset? My natural instinct was always to say sorry. Even if wasn’t the least responsible for the problem, I used to think saying sorry will express empathy and show people that I am on their side. One of the first things I learned working […]
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To communicate is to meet people where they are
I fix WordPress sites for a living. This is obviously not the case for people who reach out to me for help. In theory, I’m well aware that our customers don’t dedicate as much of their time and energy to troubleshooting their websites as I do, and that a new WooCommerce version coming out is […]
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