A few weeks ago, I attended a lecture in which Alan Arda (“M * A * S * H” fame, and many other honors”) tells the empathy, communication, and compassion in science.
Although we will not split the atom in SEO or determine the cause of death (unless it is the reason for the website), I think most of what he said is very suitable for our industry.
“When we listen and connect, there will be effective scientific communication. It happens when we use empathy. Communication is successful when we pay more attention to each other’s understanding than to just focusing on what we want to say. “– Alan Arda
I am very sorry to hear from others.
I am very easy to call it out.
My thoughts are always everywhere.
I tried to pay attention and really listen, but I admit that it sometimes makes me feel difficult.
It’s especially difficult when someone tells me something that is meaningless to me because of the way they say it or the terminology they are using.
I recently tried to provide some SEO advice to my friends, and I realized how crazy our “industry language” is. Really are.
Most people outside of SEO and marketing don’t know what the SERP is, at least not that name.
When I say “Results, you will see if you have searched in Baidu.” This makes more sense.
Simple concept, but we really need to remember.
Empathy and communication with customers
Although many customers, at least from my experience, are getting more SEO savvy, still some people don’t know what we are talking about, but know they need help.
Both groups can stand up to listen more.
All of our customers know more than we know, and we want to make sure they put it in our heads.
They question everything we say and like to quote what some other SEO professionals say, even if it was years ago.
They are trying to decide our strategy.
They are sometimes infuriating.
It’s not that every knowledgeable customer does this. Many of them are wonderful and their knowledge adds to this relationship.
In any case, listening to these customers and understanding what they say and why they say it is crucial.
Maybe their past experience is very bad.
Maybe they are under pressure from the top.
When we stop getting angry, “being told what to do” is (and I admit that there is a serious situation), it is easier to get sympathy for the customer and see everything from his or her perspective.
When we become so-called experts, will our self be instructed?
A lot of times I think so.
When we have a migraine, we don’t tell the doctor how to test.
We won’t tell the mechanic how to repair our car.
Why should these customers not listen to us?
On the one hand, we are in a non-regulated industry. We don’t have to have a degree in a related field and we don’t have any industry standards.
Anyone can call themselves an SEO practitioner. All you have to do is tap it on your Twitter creature, own a website (sometimes not even that one), and have some terms.
If I go to a doctor without a degree, but he can throw some terms like “substantial pneumonia.” I have collected some posters similar to doctors in my office, and I am very cautious.
Those customers who know nothing about it?
Sympathy also plays a role here.
We will never remember to talk to them at the level of their residence.
I feel very comfortable using a clause that is meaningless to me to let someone talk to me about my life.
There are many abbreviations in our industry, and many terms are inherent to us, and we often use them without considering them.
I am not saying that you must belittle everything you say to your customers, but make sure they understand what you are saying.
I am sure that no one is always willing to ask for clarification because we are afraid to look stupid.
If you really listen, you will know if anyone really knows you.
I know this is a problem in many industries, but I continue to talk to new potential customers who have experienced experiences with SEO practitioners and/or link builders.
This is a very important memory point.
If the customer is rude to you or asks a lot of questions that bother you, remember that you don’t know where they are from.
Empathy and communicate with your team
My team stayed with me for more than seven years.
They still have questions.
I encourage them to ask questions as much as possible, even if they are worried that it looks stupid.
I would rather ask them to make a request than to make a mistake or sit there and wonder what to do.
I always think a lot of stupid questions in my head.
This is life.
There are some really scary managers in my life.
I have someone who yells at you, compares you with other employees who can do better than you, and generally puts everyone in a dominant position because of fear of being humiliated.
All of this breeds serious resentment.
Without my team, of course I will not be me today.
Most managers won’t.
In fact, many managers seem unable to complete the work of the people they manage.
I still build a link with my partner.
They don’t need to know how to do my job, but I definitely feel that I need to know how they do it.
How can I understand them and the problems/challenges they face?
One way I adjust is to conduct regular fast and short-term surveys on a regular basis.
This is very easy for any manager.
I tried to ask five or six questions, such as:
What is the most difficult part of your job at the moment? Where do you need the most help?
This makes me very clear about their views on work.
When things are going slowly, I sometimes feel depressed.
Doing such a small survey makes me know what I need to do to make things better.
Listening to your team is easy when you’re done with ease.
If they have problems, I want to know and find a way to help.
If my team thinks they are important and I make sure they always do that, then they are usually very happy.
I am very happy when my team is happy.
Empathy and communication with your community
We are fortunate to have such a huge peer in SEO.
Certainly someone can answer any of your questions, and many people are willing to answer questions and help you.
Unfortunately, there are many people who are happy to make you look stupid and very open.
We have argued in the comments of blog posts. Now we do most of the work on Twitter or Facebook.
There is a good article on encouraging search engine optimization research in which the author discusses issues that people are afraid of saying or asking questions and being afraid of being humiliated. Basically it is frustrating rather than encouraging.
I remember writing articles, people would say “Okay, that’s nothing new” and “rdquo; and complain that I didn’t give them anything useful.
I saw someone complaining that the conference spokesperson spent his money traveling and booked a hotel to speak for free.
Some people may not be as knowledgeable as other people, write a post that draws attention, people start asking who this person is, and suggest that they have no credentials, even if they say it is useful or helpful.
I am fortunate to be able to meet people who can answer almost any question I have encountered in search engine optimization.
I tend to ask these questions privately, because I know someone will tell me that I am an idiot who doesn’t know the answer.
Imagine that when they see newcomers to the industry
, they must feel it.
We should all try and remember the situation when we first entered the industry. We should also remember these newcomers and think about the readers who are studying hard.
So what if I write an article about the basics of outreach? Maybe it will help a person try to be a good link builder.
If you know everything I said, go ahead and not complain about how basic I am.
Think about my audience may be someone other than yourself.
For those who take the time to try and help our community, there is a bit of empathy.
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