I remember a sometime ago when I was to give a presentation and was getting agitated on my inability to make a good impression and also wondering if my presentation would even add any value to the audience.
A senior colleague, who I shared my fears with told me that I should assume that the audience has little or no knowledge of my topic and that I should believe that I have something of value to give to them.
Taking that piece of advice made a lot of positive difference to my presentation as it boosted my confidence and gave me the right empathy to drive home the message from the presentation.
I have since learned that many times in life we experience conflicts, challenges, and arguments with people because we assume or believe that the other party should or would know better.
I remember the principle behind defensive driving on the roads where it is said to always assume that other road users don’t know how to drive, so you can consciously take all precautions to ensure that you drive safe for yourself and for the safety of others.
I have always loved that principle because when everyone has this mindset, we can prevent a lot of issues and a lot of consideration is given to how we approach things and engagements in general.
That child that is not doing well in school may simply not understand his lessons as well as you think he should.
That man or woman that you believe is misbehaving may not know or even understand the consequence of their actions…
Let’s always give people the benefit of doubt before we conclude or judge them.
Let’s always give people the benefit of doubt before we conclude or judge them
They may just don’t know as well as we thought they should.
I see you!
