Lady in the queue – ‘The value of good social intelligence’

We should always be minding our business especially in social, everyday settings. You never know where your clients are going to show up and many times it is not where you expect.

I was shopping recently for more comfortable fitting masks and found the perfect one at a local store in the city. The only challenge was deciding what colour mask and so I proceeded to carefully sort through the variety of options. 

Picture it, everyone in the store all wearing face masks and the only expressions visible are the eyes.  

The woman ahead of me in the queue says, “those masks are perfect, I got myself a couple and they were so comfortable I came back to buy a couple more.” 

I thanked her for her recommendation and proceeded to decisively picked a blue and orange one and then joined her in the queue. 

She began to share with me that we had in fact met before and proceeded to pull her mask down. Much to my surprise, with her full face in view I realized that this was my client! 

I must admit, I was relieved that in that moment I was socially aware to be polite to a stranger. The fact that she turned out to be a client only affirmed what we all know but sometimes do not do – the common sense thing.  

Our ability to be aware of and respond appropriately in any social setting is a skill that requires honing. 

These skills are practical. They help each of us make a positive and lasting impression on others. They also make us more confident and are capable of propelling us to succeed. 

We tend to also learn right away when we do not employ these skills because the resulting failure is evident. This could have been my story had I not exercised an awareness of how my social interaction impacts others around me, especially in casual or seemingly ‘everyday’ comings and goings. 

It pays to guard your social behaviour by displaying good decisions around how you treat others. I am talking about your etiquette.  

Displaying good manners and overall politeness is a sure way that you can start to change your behaviour to align with how others would like to be treated. 

Knowing yourself and knowing what works well for others, whether from successes or failures, is one practical way to mind your business that with practice can improve your interpersonal relationships and positively impact the bottom line.