Make Yourself Clear

3Recovering Choice in Human Interactions

So what are we slowing down, and why?

• It's six in the morning and you're calling your hotel in a panic because you will be arriving at a different time and you need to make a quick adjustment to your family's itinerary. What voice do you hope shows up on the other end? What voice do you dread?
• You're on the phone with your bank looking for a loan. You've been a member of the bank for 15 years. Do you expect someone to know you, based on your history with that bank, or do you expect to feel like a total stranger? Regardless of their final decision, if they treat you like a percentage or a set of numbers, how will you feel? If they treat you like a human being, how will you feel?
• You're applying for a job that you feel is the perfect job for you. Furthermore, you're an outstanding fit for the company. But before you can prove yourself, or the company can understand your value, your resume has to rise through the murk of an algorithm searching for certain keywords. Do you make it through? Can the algorithm actually see you? If you change your resume to try to game the system, is the resume really going to reflect the unique parts of you that would make you a compelling prospect for the job in the first place?

Now switch roles. Imagine that you're the one servicing the above transactions. How can you help the frantic 6 a.m. caller about to jump on a plane with a two‐ and three‐year‐old, not sure where he's staying that night? How can you ...