Checkout Check-in
The Compulsive Line Talker
Let’s take a moment to open the imagination:
For some of you, this may induce trembling fear of a time you thought to be long past,
For others currently living the horror, you operate in numbness - mostly because you’ve nearly bitten off your tongue 17 times already this morning, and
For the final group - those not yet introduced to the glory that is raising teenagers - there’s no way to prepare you, so let’s jump right in!
Imagine the most annoyed teen smirk and brain-breaking eyeroll about your driving (not to mention the music station), your conversation with their grandmother, your merely waking up in the morning…
But in this case, your complimenting a fellow shopper’s choice of salsa. MOOOOOMMMMM! Would you STOP talking to people at the grocery store!! It’s SOO EmBaRrAsSiNg!!!
Today’s community service tip is to recognize the humanity in another person, remind them there are people who SEE them.
BE THE GROCERY LINE TALKER!
Or the Boarding Group C chatter about forgetting checkin and ending up with C28 (it’s a flight to Chicago, it’s full anyway).
Unpopular Opinion: Airplane chatting is touchy. It’s awkward and neck-breaking to talk the entire flight. Broaching a conversation on the descent into your destination is a safe bet. That way, there’s an end in sight if they clearly don’t want to talk.
Ice Breaker: Are you headed home or away?
Or the elevator complimenter - there’s nothing quite as awkward as an elevator with just one or two other people. Break the ice by saying something nice!
If there’s a kiddo, let them push the button for you - it’ll make their day!
If you’re in the Midwest and compliment a woman’s dress - you’ll know in a flash if it has pockets! It’s a thing men will never understand. They have pockets EVERYWHERE.
BONUS: How many of us walk through the grocery store either on a mission to complete our list, or haphazardly bouncing from side to side suddenly remembering something else we forgot? When someone says something to you, it can bring you back to focus.
Happy serving,
Stephanie Sharp
VoteSharp.biz
KanVote.org
About Serve60Sharp
Serve60Sharp is a weekly, read-in-60-seconds newsletter, which provides readers with actionable ideas to serve their communities.