Unfortunately, crypto prices are more a rapid descent, but I took Smallsteps and her friend to a climbing enter to use the last of her voucher before it expired. She really likes it there and each time she is gaining in confidence and speed. Her friend had been a couple times to the same place also, so while quite a bit slower, was also confident. Her friend was also quite a bit taller. Height has its advantages, but when kids are growing, dexterity and hand-eye coordination are generally not one of them. Being small also has some advantages.
Not many.
The "slow" in the title however isn't about the climbing, but about myself. I went to bed late (slightly earlier than usual though), but after an hour and a half, our puppy decided it was time to start screaming from his pen. I don't really understand why we have a pen at all, but it is apparently what is done here. And we aren't allowed to pick him up or go to him, as that is rewarding behaviour, so he just kept whining. two and a half hours later I went to him, picked him up and had a nap on the couch with him.
I am poorly trained.
But it was only a nap and this was the second night in a row, so I am going a little slower than usual. Which is saying something, as I am slow as fuck most of the time. Still, I was able to take the girls climbing and talk with the mother of the friend for a bit, who was there because she didn't know me well enough to trust me, but I was soon told her to go shopping and come back later. Which she did.
The girls had a great time climbing.
And it was fun for me too.
I always feel a bit more pressure when one of Smallsteps' friends are with us, because they don't speak English usually, so I have to make do with my bad Finnish. It is getting better as they are older however, because they can take much better care of themselves and I am there more for guidance and a little help here and there.
The mother came back a little early (probably just to make sure) and we talked for a bit more about various things. Her English wasn't so great either (which is a bit strange these days, given her age), but good enough to get to know a bit more and smalltalk.
Finns are terrible at smalltalk!
I was trying to explain to a client the other day how smalltalk is a vital part of a conversation, as it is in those early stages where it is possible to work out commonalities and then drill down into points of interest. I gave a few examples through a roleplay, pointing out possible conversation paths, but also points that could be used to bring up later in a negotiation.
Finns like to dive into a negotiation as if they are being efficient, but it is often much less efficient because they haven't built the informational collateral that can facilitate later. I explained that smalltalk is a bit like the slow start of a movie, where you see daily activities that introduce the characters and what type of people they are, and perhaps some clues to what is coming, or what will be used as later callbacks in the movie. The start sets up the middle, and it also provides the connection to close the loop at the end of the movie also.
Smalltalk is valuable.
Thankfully for you guys though, right now I am going to slow to spend much time diving into the value of it in detail, so we can save the conversation lesson for another day. Perhaps when I have the energy of crypto climbing.
Is that an open, or a closed loop?
Taraz
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