Wanted: Slow Thinkers

Take a person who is standing around doing nothing. Suddenly, unexpectedly, from out of nowhere another person appears out of nowhere and throws a baseball at our first person's head. If that first person were to either catch the ball or duck, then in all likelihood he would be praised for either being a fast thinker or having quick relaxes. Instead, however, if he reacted slowly and ended up getting bopped on the head, then the judgement would be he was slow thinking. In such a scenario, of course, it is much better - not to mention less painful - to be quick thinking. Contending with a speeding baseball requires nothing less than that.

Thinking case, in this instance as well as many others, often is instinctual. We react because our "gut"  tells us it is the proper course of action. The action we take is not necessarily based on painstaking research. It is not the result of deliberate consideration in which one weighs the pros and cons of various courses of action. Rather, it is the result of whatever information we can quickly access and then making a snap choice. There is nothing wrong with this, of course, other than the fact not all situations call for fast thinking. There are times when the opposite of that is actually the best way to go.

If you are thinking communicating effectively is one of them, then you deserve a high-five. Despite the fact, there is a kind of romance we associate with fast-thinking, the challenge of connecting with others is the best way to go. Determining ways in which another prefers to receive information, how they like to be addressed, what their top interests and/or concers might be, and even how they like conversing with others requires unsexy, unglamorous slow thinking. Just because one "thinks fast" does not necessarily make them smarter than those who think with greater deliberation. In some ways, it may even mean just the opposite.