Re: Repeating Questions WAS: I am not a puzzle, I am a person

[Guest guest]

" I find that mothers who still have very young children at home tend to repeat

questions that have been answered more often than anyone else. Why? Because they

are used to repeating questions for a number of good reasons and the individual

is unaware that it has become an unconscious habit. "

At work I fell into a habit of repeating any orders or instructions I wa giving

because people either did not listen the first time or did not hear me correctly

the first time.

It drove me nuts.

Why should I have to say

" Put your balancing sheets on my desk at the end of the day please. Put your

balancing sheets on my desk at the end of the day " instead of:

" Put your balancing sheets on my desk at the end of the day. "

But it worked because telling them something once typically resulted in 50%

compliance and telling them twice typically resulted in 75% compliance. Telling

them more that twice resulted in the same 75% compliance, so I simply repeated

everything twice and then went to the desks of anyone who failed to comply with

my instructions and reiterated my instructions until they finally complied.

Usually the embarrassment of having to be confronted in this manner in front of

their peers was enough for them to get with the program, but not always.

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