10th
Inflating and Deflating
A little bit on interpersonal dynamics — this time the concept of inflating and deflating a situation. Often, when you’re in the midst of a disagreement, an argument, a beef, or whathaveyou, there will be a moment when the situation will be either inflated or deflated.
Think about it like a balloon; normally, the balloon is empty. But something will happen to make some air get into the balloon. It doesn’t matter so much what made the air get into the balloon, but what does is what happens in that moment.
Whether you’re building an agency, a car repair shop, or a Subway, you need to be cognisant of these moments between people. Sometimes they can be between good friends. Or total strangers. But there will be a brief moment where the situation can be resolved, or not. So what to do?
Before anything, be calm. Calmness breeds calmness, so you stepping in being calm will make those involved a bit more calm, which always helps.
First, physically get in the middle of it. Sometimes, breaking a staredown will make both people reboot themselves. This helps you perhaps take things back a few steps.
Then, in your calm demeanor, ask what the big deal is. Not in those words, but if you remove the drama out of situation it should help make everyone rational enough to talk.
After hearing each person out, do what you can to help. Don’t play favorites, just hear the situation, and calmly (again) remind everyone its fine, and here’s what we’ll do.
That will help in most situations. If they’re in boxing stances, that’s a whole different situation, buddy.
