Take time to think
High-pressure urgency is a sales tactic and a red flag
As many of us may already be aware, the title to this post and its subtitle might be rather obvious, somewhere between putting your pants on one leg at a time and remembering to wash your hands.
But for others, and occasionally myself, we’re not always great at this. Especially when everything is verbal and you have to think and talk at the same time. I am definitely not great at that. I am however, far more comfortable and confident when I can examine the words/proposal in writing, prepare my own thoughts in writing, and proceed from there. This is a more time-consuming process, but if it’s an important decision, taking the time is worth it.
That’s why salesmen, once they know you want something, virtually always use the time-sensitive tactic: “Buy it now or one of my other, very real, 47 legitimately interested potential buyers will scoop it up! The current offer stands for the next 18 seconds! Shall I get the paperwork?”
Your answer in those situations should always be “NO,” or at least, “sorry, I need to sleep on it/discuss it with my (person not in the vicinity nor available by mobile device—thus allowing you more time).” Even if it’s your employer telling you that they will match the competing employer’s offered salary, but only if you decide by 9:00 am the next day. If they are interested enough to keep you & match the offer, they can wait another day at least. If not, watch out for that red flag-looking object about to hit you in the face [speaking from experience, sadly].
Take time. Write down your thoughts, questions, concerns. Get advice or feedback from people you trust. Consider where your potential decisions might lead.
Sometimes, all we need is a little more understanding, a better explanation of what this urgent proposition is all about, its potential consequences, and why it is urgent. It might make perfect sense. Still try to get at least another day, because…
Other times, it’s a red flag because there is more going on than you may know. Obviously, the salesman and the employer want you to make a decision fast so they can avoid losing a sale/money and a good worker. It is less obvious when the urgency of some sudden, yet important decision conceals poor performance from the other party—you are being asked to help fix their mistake or lack of planning, without you fully understanding why. The jig is usually up once you ask for more details and time.
Stop the urgency train in its tracks. Life and the world can be harsh mistresses, but virtually all of the time, asking questions for a better understanding and requesting a reasonable amount of time to more carefully consider a significant decision is well, quite reasonable. Most things can wait a day and all reasonable people would want to give you time. Think, consider, write it down if that helps you. Your future self will thank you.
And after all is said and done, stop associating with unreasonable people.
Happy Thursday!
For tech nostalgia today…
I didn’t have anything planned, so I’m grabbing stuff that came to mind and which I could find online in less than a few minutes. This is the high quality content you subscribed for!
Floppy disks:
I remember using the big, literally floppy, computer disks. Then sometime in the early 90s, the smaller, literally harder disks came out. Not only were the disks remarkably shrinking in physical size, but so was the corresponding hardware. Wikipedia has a good page on floppy disk technology:
As a kid, we obviously called these smaller, newer, harder iterations “hard disks.” But later learned that “hard disk” was also a term used for hard drives (your computer’s main, permanent storage), and most adults kept using the term “floppy disk” even for the smaller not-floppy-anymore disks. So then I started using the term floppy for all of them, but some people thought I was talking about the massive 80s-era, literally floppy disks. Luckily, CD-Roms came out, replaced all of this and ended our collective terminology confusion.
I still have some small floppies somewhere. I wonder what’s on them.
