Efficient lifts make us less sociable

My company building recently revamped the lift system to make it more efficient. The new lift system comes with 'smart' features such as assigning you a lift when you tap your access card at the gantry, and ensuring the lift only stops at 4 floors per direction of travel. The lifts are also equipped with tv screens showing Channel News Asia.

These new features meant shorter waiting times at the lobby, shorter travel times in the elevator (since the max number of stops it makes before yours is 3), and access to news updates. Ultimately, it lets you get to your work desk more quickly than before. 

Aside from improving efficiency, I have also observed that the new lift system has altered the social dynamics in the organisation. The 1st floor lift lobby that used to be bustling with people during morning peak hours is now much emptier. Staff used to spend time at the lift lobby catching up with one another, but now everyone is busy catching the lift assigned to them at the gantry. 

When I was new to the organisation, I was advised to always have an elevator pitch ready as you never know who you may meet in the lift. However, with the strict cap of 4 destination floors per lift, the probability of meeting the big boss in the lift is significantly reduced. Even if you did beat the odds, the shorter time for travel meant that you probably cannot cover much of your pitch anyway. In view of this, most spend the time commenting on the news update on the TV screen. 

It's a shame that lifts, which can bind people together (i.e. in enclosed spaces like the lift lobby or the lift itself), are typically not recognized as social enablers, unlike the more common water cooler or printer. 

Drop the Pink Elephant - Dump the baggage and create clarity

The latest book I'm reading is called "Drop the Pink Elephant", by Bill McFarlan. Lifting off the synopsis, the book "reveals how to avoid the deadly trap of allowing poor communication skills to obscure your meaning and reduce your effectiveness".

This blog post gives a summary of Section 1: Dump the Baggage and Create Clarity.

If I said to you now 'Don't think of a Pink Elephant', does a clear picture of a pink elephant appear in your mind?

The author defines a Pink Elephant to be an "unnecessary, and normally vivid, negative". It usually pops up unprompted ( I'm doing this not because.../ It's not that we're afraid .../ No offence, but ...), because we're worried that somebody is thinking negatively, so we say it before they do.

Unfortunately, Pink Elephants only draw attention to the very thing you want to avoid.

Also, phrasing statements using negatives don't tell you much. Putting a sign outside your shop that says "Open 7am - 7pm" would be more useful than one that says "Not Open 24 hours".

Tip: Describe what is happening, rather than deny what you believe is someone else's perception of events. Stick to the positive point.

Tip: Another way to create clarity is to allow the audience to paint a picture with your words. Analogies should also be used to turn abstract concepts and jargon into bright pictures. When using analogies, find appropriate ones that everyone can relate to.