Silence is Golden

A friend of mine has a 7 year old who recently competed in our state gymnastics championships. 

The first of Skylar’s four routines was on the mat and as she waited her turn, her mom watched from the crowd as her little one stepped away to go to the restroom. When she returned a few moments later, the gymnast was added to the back of the line, not in her usual spot. 

Her floor routine started out beautifully. A moment later, she stopped moving, looked from left to right, turned around looking a bit lost and then resumed her moves. Her mom could tell she simply forgot the routine. 

Nobody said a word. Not the coach or her teammates or her mom. 

She moved on to medal in bars and got her personal bests on the remaining events-- vault and balance beam.

That night as her mom was tucking her in, she said “You know, Mom, I just forgot the floor routine today.” “Really?” her mom said. 

I’m writing about this because it struck me how often (and how quickly) we jump in to comment or catch colleagues missing something. I know I am always eager to fill in the blanks whether it’s a word or an action. That can often cause an OVERreaction and throw the person off for the rest of their presentation, pitch, or demonstration. Sometimes just letting it be is the best thing to do if we truly want that person to shine and let their work speak for itself.

As Arianna Huffington says, "Communication was never a soft skill--it's the bedrock of business and an absolute requirement for success." Learn more HERE.