I am working on this project with this co-worker who is very long winded. Every time I need to ask him a question he gives me some long answer with irrelevancies and I must say I tune out and stop listening because he did not get to the point immediately - this is a critical skill - get to the point. I think he is frustrated by me because I don't listen to him, but he bores me beyond belief. He is indecisive and can't control project scope with a dang either.
2007-03-26 14:44:53 · 6 answers · asked by O'Shea 5 in Business & Finance ➔ Careers & Employment
I used to be patient when I was younger but not anymore. I wouldn't ask him any questions if I already knew everything but unfortunately this bore knows a few things I don't.
2007-03-26 14:50:58 · update #1
Jessica - now that's a coworker that might keep me awake during the job.
2007-03-26 14:53:13 · update #2
Spunky - you missed the point. This is the work world, time is money.
2007-03-26 22:10:08 · update #3
You need to issue a pre-emptive strike here: "Bob, I have a question for you, but before I ask, I want you to know that I'm due in a meeting in two minutes." Or more directly, "Bob, I really appreciate that you have a lot of knowledge to share with me. Unfortunately sometimes you give me more information than I need or have time for. I don't want to be disrespectful and cut you off, so if you could help me out by giving me very direct answers, that would be great. If I need more info, I'll come back to you with another question."
2007-03-26 17:18:21 · answer #1 · answered by Mel 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I encountered this problem in a Research Writing class once. A student said, and I quote "I can't understand this sentence, it isn't well written"...She was an "A" type motor mouth too...
...To which Dr. Roy Watkins replied, "That's because you can't read..."
The whole class was shocked and the professor was entirely correct. She couldn't understand what she was reading because she was not actively engaged in the pursuit of reading...hence the analogy.
Bottom Line -- If you can't understand what this guy is saying, try opening your mind and listening.
Saying "Get to the point" is just an excuse, because you're not trained enough to actively listen to your co-worker.
I don't mean to sound rude, I'm just saying you need to do some ACTIVE listening, not just pay him lip service. He could probably teach you a thing or two about actually listening.
Shut up for a few seconds and listen.
Critical (skill) thinking requires that you ACTIVELY listen to the subject about 80% of the time and only talk about 20% of the time -- not just passively -- however boring he may be.
Tuning him out robs you of information -- and makes you look REALLY dumb in the long run to other people.
Imagine if someone tuned you out mid-speech !
It's not that he can't speak -- You're just not listening to him.
2007-03-26 22:32:46 · answer #2 · answered by spunk y 2 · 0⤊ 4⤋
I work with a guy sort of like that, what I do when he won't get to the point and starts rattling is try to redirect him, by asking questions while he is responding. He gives more direct answers to my interruption's so that he can get back to his blathering.
2007-03-26 21:57:29 · answer #3 · answered by tireddad1 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
ask him to shorten his answers a bit before he rambles on and loses your attention.
tell him to remain silent before he answers so that he can collect his thoughts in order of relevance rather than run through everything like a tornado.
2007-03-26 21:53:31 · answer #4 · answered by firephotodude 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Don't ask him too many questions?
Seriously, this is a person that can't organize his thinking.
You can't fix him, but you can take this as an opportunity to learn patience.
2007-03-26 21:49:16 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
i think with this you need to just tell the person the honest truth, if they dont know there doing anything wrong then theyll keep doing it.
2007-03-26 21:53:59 · answer #6 · answered by ned s 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋