Zip It!!!

Most folks who know me would say that I'm easy-going, soft-spoken, and very patient. ALL of that is true.

Unfortunately...those qualities can sometimes be mistaken for weakness...which they are NOT.

Interestingly though...because I exude such qualities 99.9 percent of the time...the .1 percent that I have to display "other" qualities sends folks into a bit of a spin, not quite understanding "what just happened".

Such an experience took place today.

For weeks I have tolerated a certain person's "bossiness" and just figured, "that's the way she is". Today though, I had had ENOUGH.

She asked me a question and as I was answering, she was talking over me as though she already knew the answer. THIS by the way is a MAJOR pet-peeve of mine. Do NOT...I repeat...DO NOT ever ask me a question and then talk over my answer, because talking over my answer tells me that you already know everything and at that point...I'm just gonna stop answering, and let you be WRONG to figure it out yourself.

Today though, I was so disturbed by the way that this question and answer session was going, I was determined to get MY answer...the CORRECT answer out.

So I'm talking. She's talking.
I'm talking louder. She's talking louder.
I'm talking the LOUDEST and say, "Let me answer the question!" At which point, she INSTANTLY "zips it" and LISTENS. As a result, she realized that she had been WAY OFF TRACK in her thinking and thanked me for clarifying. To which I responded,"You're welcome".

I go back to what I was doing BEFORE the question, and she asks, "Are you a little uptight today?"

"No. But if you are referring to what just happened, I needed you to hear what I was saying and in order to do that I needed to get you to stop talking over me."

{Silence}

Shortly after that I noticed a complete change in the way that she interacted with me. It was as though during our little Q&A session she FINALLY gained some respect for me. FINALLY.

Was it in the fact that I had to be firm and raise my voice a tad?

Was it in the fact that I actually KNEW what I was talking about while she was waaay off base?

Could it have been both? Possibly.

Whatever it was, I think that things will be better for us going forward and if it took what I did today to get us to that point, then we will both be all the better for it. I put up with a lot more than most, but I do have a breaking point, and when I break...folks notice.

Now...Let the DIALOGUE begin: How do YOU get YOUR point across?

Talk to me (but don't talk over me)!

Til next time...