It’s a mark of profound respect when people in your circle casually ask for your opinion and then actually provide some space and listen to your response. We all know when others are paying attention to us, whether we’re live in person, via audio, or on video. It’s obvious. Their body language, tone, and word choice give it all away. And you feel it in your gut right away, right? It’s familiar, unfortunately. Contrast that experience to how you feel when you notice someone actually considers your opinion? That’s obvious too. If your friends or colleagues don’t make this small gesture a regular practice, you really have to question the relationship. I certainly do. It’s most jarring when you’ve worked on teams where respectful conversations were generally the norm and then you abruptly move to a team where it’s totally absent.
