personal revelations for 300, Alex
I've come to realize in the past few months just how much I'm NOT an auditory learner. I've known for years that I need visual backup on things- I can't learn music by ear, for example, and I took extensive notes in school, because it was the only way to process and remember lectures.
But it's interesting how much MORE this impacts me, to an extent that I'm really only picking up on in the last few months.
I've finally realized that this is why I suck on the phone; I'm only getting auditory input, and that's why I have so much trouble processing information. Every so often, I have AGONIZING phone conversations with my boss where I have massive difficulty grasping something she's trying to tell me. I hear it in her tone as these things drag on- she can't understand why I'm not understanding something that she thinks is basic, and I'm struggling to make sure I understand, no matter how long it takes.* We had one yesterday and another today, and they're tremendously frustrating for us both.
This NEVER happens when we meet face to face- only over the phone. My best guess as to why is that if I'm not getting her facial and body cues (and also, it helps when she can see me writing everything down and can see that she needs to go a little more slowly), then I'm probably going to be working twice as hard to understand what's happening. When I'm calling someone with a purpose, it's not a problem, or when I know the conversation will be going down familiar pathways- this is how I can work in a box office and handle phone transactions without a problem. It's only an issue when something complex is thrown at me that I start to flounder. Most of the time, I can work through it and manage just fine, but with this job- where so much happens on the phone, and so much of my conversation with my boss can't happen face to face- it's exacerbating things more than I'm used to.
I'm not sure if it's something that I can actually work on and improve. I'm a little alarmed with this revelation- I feel like I suddenly discovered a huge gap in my ability to function like an adult, and it's throwing me for a loop. I know that I'm adding a lot of extra pressure on myself that doesn't help; I start to anticipate that I'm going to have trouble again and I lose focus and miss a vital piece of information and so it takes extra time for me to catch up. At some point, I'm going to have an overdue six-month evaluation talk with my boss, and I know that I need to bring this issue up. There HAS to be a way to make this less of an issue, because she and I are going to continue to communicate over the phone more than we do face to face. I just have to figure out how to make it work.
* It also doesn't help that we have similar phone rhythms- we hear a pause and simultaneously try to speak to fill it. That means that we end up starting to talk at the same time and end up talking over each other until we realize and one of us backs down.
But it's interesting how much MORE this impacts me, to an extent that I'm really only picking up on in the last few months.
I've finally realized that this is why I suck on the phone; I'm only getting auditory input, and that's why I have so much trouble processing information. Every so often, I have AGONIZING phone conversations with my boss where I have massive difficulty grasping something she's trying to tell me. I hear it in her tone as these things drag on- she can't understand why I'm not understanding something that she thinks is basic, and I'm struggling to make sure I understand, no matter how long it takes.* We had one yesterday and another today, and they're tremendously frustrating for us both.
This NEVER happens when we meet face to face- only over the phone. My best guess as to why is that if I'm not getting her facial and body cues (and also, it helps when she can see me writing everything down and can see that she needs to go a little more slowly), then I'm probably going to be working twice as hard to understand what's happening. When I'm calling someone with a purpose, it's not a problem, or when I know the conversation will be going down familiar pathways- this is how I can work in a box office and handle phone transactions without a problem. It's only an issue when something complex is thrown at me that I start to flounder. Most of the time, I can work through it and manage just fine, but with this job- where so much happens on the phone, and so much of my conversation with my boss can't happen face to face- it's exacerbating things more than I'm used to.
I'm not sure if it's something that I can actually work on and improve. I'm a little alarmed with this revelation- I feel like I suddenly discovered a huge gap in my ability to function like an adult, and it's throwing me for a loop. I know that I'm adding a lot of extra pressure on myself that doesn't help; I start to anticipate that I'm going to have trouble again and I lose focus and miss a vital piece of information and so it takes extra time for me to catch up. At some point, I'm going to have an overdue six-month evaluation talk with my boss, and I know that I need to bring this issue up. There HAS to be a way to make this less of an issue, because she and I are going to continue to communicate over the phone more than we do face to face. I just have to figure out how to make it work.
* It also doesn't help that we have similar phone rhythms- we hear a pause and simultaneously try to speak to fill it. That means that we end up starting to talk at the same time and end up talking over each other until we realize and one of us backs down.