Using Information From The Reputation Space In The Project Space

We all have Googled someone. Put his name into the Google search box and hit enter.

Just before a meeting. After we have received a mail. See what information we can find about this person.

We can use this information to build up a mental image of this person. Build up context. Guess his frame of reference. Determine what this person is about.

When we meet this person in a face to face conversation, we use the information we found in his digital footprint. If we like it or not, we interpret messages in the context we have build up.

In here lies our challenge.

We have to make use of the information we received from the digital space, but shouldn’t use it as a fixed frame of reference. It is merely a starting point in our conversation.

When we use information from the reputation space into the project space we have to communicate mindfully:

“When people communicate mindlessly, they tend to utilize broad categories and stereotypes to predict behavior. As mindfulness increases, the categories become more specific and typically more accurate predictors. Since being mindful makes us open to more information we are more likely to correctly identify the receiver’s frame of interpretation.”

Information from the reputation space is useful in communication. Even if we want to, there is no escaping from it. Now we have to put a name into a search box. Give it some time, and this information is presented to you in a more frictionless and faster way.

But we should use it to our advantage, and not as a short cut to save time on real conversations.