notice anything about this picture?

Research suggests that I’m signalling that the conversation I’m in is ripe for interruption. How rude!

…My phone may be face down, but it’s still impacting the conversation quality.

Misra, Cheng, Genevie & Yuan (2016) put 100 pairs of people in coffee shops and had trained observers watch them talk.

They found that the mere presence of a phone on the table measurably reduced conversation quality and empathic concern.

A visible phone tells both people that this conversation can be trumped at any moment. That means neither person goes to the deeper topics that require undivided attention.

Sometimes we need to practice active listening and powerful questions and sometimes we also.. just need to take the phone off the table.

Connection is a mindset and a skill but it’s also about small habits- and the phone on the table is one of the bad habits I’ve committed to breaking. Anyone else?

Make it stand out

I may look like I’m having fun here, but I’m (probably) eager to check my messages :/