The Power Of Noticing

1/ Notice

I was walking through Hereford today and caught a snippet of conversation between two people.

"Have you tried tea tree oil?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied. "It didn't work for me."

And as far as I could tell, that closed the conversational door.

I see this happen all the time. People trying to help others. Then using a closed question that blocks the inquiry.

Assuming the person has given their permission to be helped, a better question might have been:

"What have you tried so far?"

It invites the other person to share. It assumes they have already tried to solve the issue for themselves. Open questions lead into a different conversation.

Of course, you know this already. But we don't always do what we know. We should all take this as a gentle reminder.

Setting out to notice the tiny details in everyday situations, like this one, maintains my curiosity. It makes me think about my own performance in conversations — which is a mainstay of my business.

2/ Question

How do you deliberately notice useful details in everyday life?

3/ Act

Pick one thing to notice more this week. Don't try to take in everything. Pick a single detail to track as you move around. It might be body language in a meeting, the hesitations before people speak, or the workarounds people create when something doesn't work. Keeping it small makes it manageable.

Catch moments of friction. Watch for tiny instances where things don't go to plan. A clumsy handover, an awkward silence, or an instruction everyone ignores. Just notice what actually happens without rushing to fix it in your head.

Ask yourself what it teaches you. At the end of the day, pick one of those moments. Ask: "What does that tell me about how people really behave?" Then use that insight to rethink one interaction you have coming up. Noticing only counts if you use it.

Hit reply and share your takeaways?

That’s it until next week.

Clive