Enhancing Interactions: Balancing Professionalism and Personal Connection In 1-1 Chats
Hello everyone, today we are going to start a discussion on how we as listeners can make our interactions with members sound more humanely, so the members can feel more supported and validated!
As we aim to enrich our interactions here as a listeners with members, it is crucial that we infuse our conversations with both humane touch and professionalism. Striking this balance ensures that our interactions are not only empathetic but also resonate with an understanding.
Here are some steps we can ensure to keep our interactions more humane-
Incorporating Personal touch:
One effective approach is to weave in personal experience or anecdotes when appropriate, for example if the member shares their struggles with 'Anxiety', Acknowledging their emotions and letting them know that they not alone in this and it does get better with time without going into extensive detail, we can give our example. Such as "I hear you it might feel like this right now but know I have been there and I think it does get better with time, how do you feel about that?" can offer hope and relatability this approach helps members to feel understood and supported in their own battles!
Tone & Engagement:
The tone of our communication in the chat is vital, whilst maintaining clarity and respect, varying our language to keep the conservation engaging can make a significant difference. Adopting a conversational tone that reflects empathy, encouragement, especially when in a chat that includes sensitive topics, fosters a supportive environment.
Personalization:
Addressing members by their usernames whenever possible can enhance the personal touch of our interactions. This simple practice demonstrates that we value their individuality and are engaging in the chat with them personally rather that responding in a generic manner.
@MindfulJourney22
Hi! This is a very important topic and I'm glad you brought it up. As some members ask whether we're bot or not!
The first and most thing is, understanding that we're having a genuine interaction with a member, as virtual world can make this relationships feel unreal, but the important part is to understand they're humans with feelings and thoughts. We might sometimes actually turn into bots as we take more members or just look at a screen.
The second point, is, for us to have a member account as well. and refer to it when needed. After a while, you can come up with a list of what to do and what NOT to do, based on how you yourself felt as a member, and how you want to be treated.
The third point, is human interactions, you can start the conversation with things like, what can I call you? Nice to meet you *their name*. Introducing yourself, trying to apply personal experiences and suggestions, and simply being there for them as a friend.
I'd love to see other's suggestions on this.
Sometimes I think humour works and it’s about figuring out their personality too. Don’t think of them in clinical terms 🤍
lovely and sweet post! This is just me personally but I avoid sharing my own opinion unless they ask or if I feel it serve them well (risk)
I love the colour coding of the post and the question is a great one
@MindfulJourney22
Hi Journey! 😊 ❤️ Many thanks for this well written, incredibly insightful forum post and for tagging me! This truly was a thing of beauty for me to witness. It's great information for anyone that has never thought of these concepts, heard these things prior as well as a wonderful refresher for those of us that have.
I too take a highly humanistic approach to being here on the platform and it's lovely to see my teammates that do the same. *hat tip*🎩to you my friend!
While I embrace everything that you have had to say, I especially love how you broached the topic of sharing of ones self, lived experiences. I could not agree with you more. Sharing of ones self, letting another know that they are not alone and that we have been there also can bring so much comfort to another. It can be a bonding moment and a way of letting a member know that they just might be talking to the right person, not being judged and that we as listeners really do "get it". Brilliant! 💡
Doing so can be incredibly nuanced and there is a right way to do this (and effectively) as well as a wrong way which you alluded to. In an effort to not make the member feel as if they came seeking help and support, but instead ended up spending time with a listener just to hear them drone on and on about their own personal struggles and made the chat all about them instead (sad to hear feedback from our teammates on the member side when they feel as if they ended up supporting the listener)....
one could consider this....
It's wonderful to consider sharing of ones self (if appropriate) and see the chat move forward and kind of open up organically. There could be a moment in a chat where sharing of ones self could be helpful not for us as the listener (emotional dumping), but instead for our member. For sharing of ones self to truly be helpful for our members it should be what can be called a "hero story". You had the same struggle, you over came it, you worked through it and came out better on the other side in an effort to provide a bit of hope that indeed, it can be done.
This is when we quickly pivot, turn and put the focus back on our member and no longer ourselves. Bam! (enough about me, how about you 😊) !
Thank you again for your amazing forum post! Well done my friend! 😊 ❤️
*high fives* 😊 and *hugs* ❤️
@SparkyGizmo
Thank you for that well-explained write-up about how it's important to be considerate about when to share about our own struggles, and how much we want to share.
The only thing I want to add on that note is to also be mindful when wanting to share a "hero story". While this might work for some members, I can imagine that this might make others feel invalidated.
Imagine a member is reaching out to talk about how they cannot build a boat, and they seem to beat themselves up about it. Now, telling them about how you've managed to build a boat while you were in a similar place where they are right now, might make their feeling of being inadequate stronger.
I think some signs to look out for are when a member is deep in despair, or when they already feel inferior. In those cases, I'm afraid sharing about ourselves might make them feel even worse about their own situation, and invalidate their feelings in the process.
I don't want to say that sharing "hero stories" is a bad tool. There are many chats in which this might be exactly what the member needs. But that's what I want to emphasize a bit more. Tailoring the tools we use to our member's needs is important.
@Fuechsin
Hi Fue! 😊 ❤️
I cannot thank you enough for your brilliant response!💡I sooooo appreciate you bringing this around 180 degrees, digging deeper and fleshing out my comment of "there is a right way to do this (and effectively) and a wrong way".
Sharing the wrong ways is most helpful to us all as well. All things in moderation, you have to "know your audience" and what could be helpful and what would qualify as completely unhelpful and a bit detrimental to our members. I love how it is that you so perfectly phrased this ... "tailoring the tools we use to our members needs is most important".
I really love how you provided us all with an incredible "teachable moment" and the specific way in which you did so! I find your utilization of an analogy to be a highly effective tool as well as the specific analogy that you shared (spot on!). Furthermore, it's a beautiful moment to see you do that, show us a technique that can be highly valuable in chats with our members (this is the example) and then in turn, take that portable skill and apply it to leading us all as your teammates on the listener side!
This truly just unfolded and organically and it's a beautiful moment to witness it as many times a good listener for members can equate to an incredible leader here on the platform when the tools, techniques, values and mindset is truly embraced, internalized and becomes quite natural. Thank you for your leadership Fue! ❤️
As for me, from time to time when I *put items into my listener tool box*, I take a broader concept and boil it down to a "Gizzie-ism". For me, "Gizzie-isms" are short catch phrases as they are easier to remember, quickly retrievable and once I do, I think about the broader concept that is related.
Thank you for your cautionary tale of what not to do as well as your gift 🎁 to me today to add to my listener tool box. Gizzie-ism for this one......"I gotta' boat and you don't" 😊 haha hahahah!
*high fives* 😊 big *hugs* ❤️ and keep rockin' the house Fue!
@MindfulJourney22
Great post, thank you MindfulJourney22!
What are the ways you as listener try to maintain both humanly and professional tone and 1-1 chat with a member?
I believe showing understanding for their situation and their feelings whilst keeping boundaries is important. As listeners we need to be careful in not falling into the trap to give advice, no matter how much we want to make a member feel better since it can lead to more harm as we do not walk in their shoes. What is good for me might not be good for them. This is something I like to remind myself of too.
@MindfulJourney22
Thank you for sharing these tools we can use to enhance the personal connection we have with members on here. Using tools like these can elevate the member's experience, and thus might make help them to be more engaged in the chat.
I do agree that in some chats it can be an incredible tool to share about our own struggles, and provide some perspective to the member that this doesn't always have to be this way. Yet, I want to emphasize that consideration when to use this tool might is quite important. As I've mentioned in the answer to another response here, it might invalidate the member's feelings if they are currently finding themselves in despair, or are already struggling with comparing themselves to others. Understanding the member's needs and tailoring our tools to those is crucial here.
Yet, I feel like adding our personal experience can elevate how well we're reflecting, and empathizing with the member. We don't need to necessarily share that we've been through the same struggles, but already showing them that we understand by finding phrases that resonate with how they feel can go such a long way in making them feel heard. There isn't a better feeling than feeling understood when we share our struggles. So given our own experiences, we can do exactly that for the members we talk to.
Having found my own tone, and style of listening, has made my chats a much better experience for me, and the member. Now, members know what they can expect from me when I listen to them, while I don't have to try and be somebody else.
I feel like making use of active listening and its tools gives us the biggest power in maintaining professionalism. They are what differentiates active listening from simply discussing personal struggles with somebody else.
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Hello people,
A very nice question.
I think it's important as a listener not to get carried away. Sometimes we may get carried away and try to impose our viewpoint.
Once we become conscious that we are in such a situation, we need to go back to basics and ask ourselves why are we here? Most would say to help people. So helping is what we must keep in mind
Also, we must take care of ourselves as listening can be tiring at some point