This is another channel that #Samaritans support, alongside voice and webchat for callers who are going through emotional distress, and some who are feeling suicidal.
I hone my communication during every shift, as the skill in handling callers over the phone is very different that managing a call on webchat or email.
As a project manager, I have found that the practice of doing email support for those in crisis has made it so much easier to deliver bad news and have difficult conversations (which is a critical part of my job).
Reading the original email is a form of active listening.
It’s paying attention to what’s being said.
And what’s NOT being said.
It’s reading between the lines and feeling the emotional undertone of the writer.
And then taking the time to craft the reply.
To select the right word, the right phrase.
I make sure that it is devoid of all judgement – either explicit or implicit
(Because this is the quickest way to get the walls up and the other party will stop listening).
I will summarise, paraphrase and reflect their tone to show that I’ve listened, before sharing my thoughts, and perhaps asking some questions to explore further.
When I am on the phone or on webchat, I would get instant feedback if I ‘mis-speak’ or say the wrong thing in my communications: they hang up the phone or disconnect the chat.
Then I would sit and replay the conversation to see where I went wrong – perhaps I inadvertantly said something that was misconstrued as judgemental, or they believed that I was trying to solve their problem or that I was telling them what to do.
I reflect, I learn, and I do better.
I believe that those using AI to construct communication to produce required outcome robs them of the important learning process of knowing what BAD looks like, and what GOOD looks like.
It might surprise you to know that telling someone in pain who is contemplating ending their life that: “Things will ALWAYS get better. You just have to push through” is not an example of the right thing to say.
I tell my kids to learn how to learn.
Learn how to be better by making mistakes.
Use AI intelligently, as a tool to learn how to think, to solve, to see new perspective.
Not to replace your thinking process.
Learning critical thinking is like working a muscle.
If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it. 💪🏻
I’m not saying that you have to volunteer for a suicide crisis line to practice writing better emails. There are less difficult ways of improving your comms.
And I believe that the real path to#GetGood is through genuine curiosity and asking the right questions. AI is just a tool to get there.
