Today I was put into the unusual (for me) situation of defusing an angry client over the phone. It quickly became clear that this person was a master of berating people.
I try to walk the tightrope between assertiveness and defensiveness in these situations.
I'm out of practice. I bombed. If we'd been on a log, he'd have rolled me in head first with a big old splash. If we'd been in a skating race, I'd have fallen through the ice. If it'd been a paintball match, I'd be slobbered in enough juice to re-coat my entire condo.
Basically, I didn't have enough information, and ended up eating some of my words.
Sigh.
Personal, mano-a-mano failure can really stick to your psyche like rubber cement and be tough to shake.
But shake it I did.
After hanging up the phone, I physically stood up re-filled my water mug. Literally stretched out my arms and neck to shoo away the tension that had accumulated. Then picked another project to occupy my mind, something relatively low-intensity. That gave me a little victory to celebrate.
I've failed enough to know that the sun always rises again, and warmth comes with it - as long as I'm willing to step out from under the cloud rather than follow it like a slave.
I was no less of a person due to my mistake. I was actually a better person. I kept my calm throughout while being yelled at. His reputation is the one that sank. I'm going to learn from my experience and improve the next time I get a call like that. Somehow I suspect that he'll keep right on slinging mud, and end up to his ears in filth down the road.
No comments:
Post a Comment