Getting to Toronto– Heaven or Hell?

We have an inside joke, Karen and I. It’s about driving to Toronto with any new acquaintance.

Ottawa to Toronto, counting for a pit stop along the way, is about five hours if the weather is good and road conditions are reasonable. With the right travel companion, the time flies by in pleasant conversation, fellowship, and relationship-building. The trip will take its place in the storehouse of sweet memories. But with some others, the trip feels like a month.

What is it about one person that makes five hours of company a treasured memory, and with another, a prison term?

Well, quite frankly, it’s about the caliber of the conversation– is it all about you, or do we get to talk about interesting, meaningful things?

Unless I feel very deeply for you, or I’m paid very handsomely, I really don’t care about the granular details of your biography. Even if you had stuffed the mouth of the Great Orange One with his own red necktie, five hours of hearing you brag about it would make me wish to be with him, not you. And if my fondest memories of the trip are the three times I managed to get in a word edgewise, you can be sure I’ll insist that next time one of us flies.

But if you can make me laugh, if you can get me to see things in a whole new way, or tell me vivid stories, you can come to Toronto with me anytime. If you can challenge my worldview in a wholesome and open fashion, if you can put me back in touch with the ideals and dreams which used to light me up, or tell me about places where I’ve never been, then I may even buy you lunch.

Can you and I reciprocate in conversation? Can I wait until you’re finished? Will you listen respectfully until I’ve said my piece? Will you at least pretend to roll your eyes at my bad jokes? Can you recognize when I’ve tuned out and it’s time to turn a conversational corner? Do you simply enjoy being with me and care that I simply enjoy being with you?

These things are the elements of communication. They’re also the foundations of networking, of friendship, of building and belonging to support networks. They’re the keys to leadership, and they’re the essence of being human.

See missed Briefings! (https://us12.campaign-archive.com/home/?u=c5b0c09025ad045bf11bb02f5&id=b5efdf9247)