First… Let’s all take a deep breath.
I’m serious!
It’s natural to react to stress with a “fight or flight” reaction. We all do it. And if you’re like me, I usually regret my knee-jerk reactions taken in a reactive, poorly planned moment. Heck,… it happened to me yesterday!
I’m a businessman and I was introduced by a good friend to a potential prospect. The prospect graciously extended their open hand toward me inviting me to shake his hand… and with all this COVID19 scare going on and the resulting hand-washing directives, I awkwardly fist-bumped his open hand. The look on the prospect’s face said the story. It was a combination of a smirked ridicule and disappointment. That was not a good first impression.
Ugggh.
1. The world has obviously changed and the way we interact with others is likely to change too. So, what do we do now? Answer: We must all learn a new “normal,” and that will take some careful changes in our social behaviors. Here’s what we can do:Watch, identify and imitate good social interaction behaviors practiced by others. Seriously, watch and imitate them. Example, when you meet your friend or business acquaintance, and they extend their hand to greet you, smile and acknowledge how great it is to see / meet them. Then present your friendly fist and say with a smile, “Fist-bump!?” They will usually honor the request and change their open hand to a fist and politely bump yours in acknowledgement. If they are weird and insist on a handshake, then honor them with a handshake, and immediately follow the handshake with retrieving a bottle of your hand sanitizer from your pocket. Offer your prospect the first use of the hand sanitizer – with a SMILE (This shows respect and care for your new friend). This is a good time to crack a funny joke about how we must wash our hands after greeting friends. “Good thing we don’t take things like this personal. Ha ha… By the way, you can keep the hand sanitizer bottle. I have a ton of them.” They smile and laugh along with you and now I’m a hero they will not soon forget.
2. Be a good example for others. Believe me, – people (like our children and social circle) are watching us! There are so many conspiracy theorists out there right now, it’s hard to know what to believe. But the one thing we DO know is that we are on display (and being judged) by the whole world who is watching our reactions to global virus control directives. I didn’t say “trust the news media.” That subject is too controversial. I said follow society’s restrictions and directives. Wash your hands. Stay inside. Avoid touching your face. Social distance yourself from others. Wear a face mask to protect others. People want to work with others who care about the influence of their actions on the public. If you endanger others, people don’t want to associate with you.
Do you have any suggestions on how to navigate this new “pandemic-awareness” world we live in? We would love to hear about your ideas in the comment section below. We would love to hear from you.
If you would like to discuss your concerns about the quality of your indoor environment, we at HouseCheck would love to hear from you. Please visit our website covidclean.housecheck.com
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