As we all become more and more connected, we’re finding that it still takes time to build relationships. We have the ability to learn tremendous amounts about people from a distance hiding behind our computers. I’m not talking about stalking here. Stalking is trying to find out something about someone that they don’t want you to find out about them. I’m talking about looking at their Social Networking profiles and figuring out who they represent themselves to be and determining if this is someone you’d like to connect with.
We can add connections with lightning-like speed, but relationships still take time, and always will. Just because you’re connected to everybody and their brother doesn’t mean that you have a relationship with everyone and their brother. And it doesn’t mean you should have a relationship with everyone and their brother. You can’t. There just isn’t enough time in one lifetime.
So we have the ability to determine who we may want to develop a relationship with for any of a number of reasons including finding a job, marketing, sales, dating, common interests, and charity among many others. The thing to remember is that relationships are give and take in nature and developing that takes time. Showing appreciation, interest and courtesy are some of the things which make up a relationship and they take time and evidence.
I say evidence because if we don’t have evidence of something we tend to doubt it’s veracity. And if I’m doubting the veracity of our relationship it may be due to lack of evidence. This is not a bad thing, it just is what it is. So take the time to let people know that you’re interested in them as people. You’re interested in their success. You’re interested in their goals and dreams. You’re interested in them as human beings.
This takes a little investment of time and communication. And there’s the paradox. We’re connecting at the speed of light, but we “connect” over time. And in the long run of relationship building, sometimes fast is slow and slow is fast.