Confession time: I hate confession time. Look, I’m a very private person about the weirdest things, I get that. When everyone is talking at work about what they did on the weekend, I’m just privately hoping that no one asks me. I do perfectly normal things- taking the kids to the park, going to AFL games, going out to dinner with the wife—but I don’t want anyone to KNOW. Why should they know? It’s my business, and mine alone.
Or that was what I used to think. Can’t promise I’m ‘cured’ or anything, but maybe I understand a bit better than I should be sharing. Basically, we had a bit of a mini-conference in the office. Even got ourselves a business speaker, which immediately made me go into panic mode because they always do stuff like making you talk to your neighbour, and ‘sharing your hopes and dreams!’ Or so I thought. I honestly didn’t have much to go on, seeing as I’d only ever been to one when I worked for that insurance company and they got in some eighty-year-old who spent most of his time sitting on a stool and asking us questions to ask our neighbour. Unsurprisingly, I quit the next day.
But no, this business speaker was a bit less intensive and more…well, inspirational.
So now I’m trying to put into practice what I’ve learned. We need to reverse our self-talk, basically. I’m constantly telling myself that my business is my own and anyone who asks is just being a nosey parker. That’s my negative self-talk. But what if they actually care, or just want to start a pleasant conversation because they’re lovely people? I hadn’t considered that. So starting now…I…am going to talk…about my weekend. Next step is offering details that weren’t part of the question. After that…well, I might as well just take up a job as a professional conference speaker, since I’m so into sharing.
-Zac