Everyone we meet is different and will notice different things about us. But everyone – and not the proverbial ‘everyone’…like I’m referring to the real meaning of everyone – will notice how you make them feel.
Yesterday I had a long overdue catch up with a friend and, of course, the convo came around to our words for 2020. Her word for this year was ‘mindful’. And I’m like ‘you have to be one the most mindful persons I know!’ She explained that one of the ways she wanted to be more mindful was to be more present in her social interactions.
Right. Yeah. It’s sometimes hard to be present in social situations isn’t it?
So that got me thinking about how I could demonstrate my ‘presence’ in social interactions. Here’s what I came up with:
- Meeting time. Sometimes just to get it over with and fit it into the ‘schedule’ meet ups could just be added to the calendar without real intention. How important is this meet up? Important enough for me to give a proper window of time or will fitting this into my lunch time when I’ll be constantly conscious of time do? So be intentional about the schedule what comes before and after could certainly help with being present.
- Phone away or face down. I must admit…this is easier said than done, especially as a mom. I could definitely improve on this and here’s what I’m thinking. Letting those most likely to contact me know that I’ll be unavailable for x number of minutes (or hours if the meet up involves food of some sort 😂) that way they’re not expecting immediate responses from me. And should someone call during that time…that’s what voicemail is for isn’t it? But I really do pray they don’t leave a voicemail…cause I don’t check them. So here’s to improvements on this front 🥂.
- Body language. Thinking is my body relaxed like I want to be there and feel safe and comfortable or am I tense and so the vibes are more ‘I’m ready to blow this popsicle stand’? Either way…the person that I’m with can probably tell right away.
- Eye contact. So this one freaks me out a bit. Sometimes I find eye contact can be intimidating. But when I think back to those times…they weren’t times when care, love or ‘I’m interested in you’ were communicated…even with words. You know that saying your eyes are the window to your soul? They truly are and whatever you’re feeling will be displayed through them.
Really…the bottom line is that I want everyone who meets, engages or interacts with me for any length or time to go away feeling better about themselves and more inspired.
I want them to feel important.
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