A Soft Word
“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
Proverbs 15:1
Since April of this year, I have been blessed to work from home. And for me, it has been a nerve wrecking challenge. I believed that I didn’t possess the skills or patience necessary to be a phone tech or customer service rep. Sometimes my own preconceived ideas of what a job will intel causes me to doubt whether I even want to be burdened with it. Nevertheless, here I am, one of the world’s newest customer service reps, and I am enjoying it.
I have to admit that the majority of people calling in are very understanding that I am just the messenger. However, there is a minority that do not care I am just the customer service rep! If I dare to answer the phone, I am going to hear what they feel needs to be said and there may not be a whole lot of consideration for how it is said.
Now, here is the struggle for me. I am the kind of person who prefers to avoid controversy whenever I can. If there is a kind and gentle way to deal with a situation, I will usually take that path. However, being on the phone there is only one path – to try and listen patiently. Honestly, the reason I try to avoid controversy is that I get very hostile when I feel cornered. I learned the rule of fight or flight early in life. Now that I am an adult, I do a lot less fighting.
Since I have been on the phone, I have discovered that my natural body is not the only thing that has matured. My ability to listen with compassion has matured as well. It amazes me how a sincere apology and an understanding ear will cause a heated moment to de-escalate. I’m not saying that the feeling of fight has gone away, but the ability to reason is now greater than the fight or flight. Now I can understand that pride is usually the reason we choose to fight, and a lack of pride is usually why we choose flight.
Today, I challenge you to choose reason and a soft word.