Episode: 579

Episode Title: Check In And Walk Away

Are you doing check-ins right, or are you committing a big mistake when you touch base with people? Here’s how to check in effectively, next on The Perna Syndicate.

Ep 579 show:

This is The Perna Syndicate—welcome! If you’re leading people in any capacity, you’ve probably heard about engaging them through regular check-ins. It’s vital to keep a pulse on how your students or coworkers are doing, so you check in with them. And that’s great—if you’re doing it right. 

You need to check in and walk away. Do not add anything else to the conversation. Do not bring up an assignment you need them to complete, don’t talk shop, don’t let it turn into anything else except a sincere conversation about them and their needs at that moment in time. Check in, and then walk away.

If you do ask someone to do something immediately after checking in with them, you’ve invalidated the check-in. They see it as you just making small talk with your ulterior motive being what you need from them. 

An effective check-in isn’t complicated. You ask how they’re doing, actively listen to their answer, and see if they need anything from you. Then you leave it at that. You just showed them you care about them, not just what you need them to do. It’s powerful.

Many people have no idea how deeply they’re undermining their well-intentioned check-ins by using them as catch-all conversations. The other person sees the check-in as a blind for the true purpose of the discussion. It’s a huge turnoff. 

Engage your students and coworkers by checking in—and walking away.

Tomorrow: One final engagement strategy is to make the whole thing relevant to the person on the other end. We’ll talk about how to do that on the next episode of The Perna Syndicate. Tune in and we’ll see you then!