🏁 Axios Finish Line: Just ask

Plus: Hail, snail mail | Monday, July 18, 2022

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Goldman Sachs   Axios Finish Line By Mike Allen, Erica Pandey and Jim VandeHei ·Jul 18, 2022 Jul 18, 2022 Welcome back. Keep chatting with us at finishline@axios.com. Smart Brevity™ count: 424 words ... 1½ mins.     1 big thing: Why you should check in Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios   We way underestimate how much the simplest text or call means to friends, family members and colleagues. Why it matters: Casually and quickly checking in with the people in our lives is one of the easiest — but highest-impact — things we can do. That's according to a new study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, "The Surprise of Reaching Out." Researchers asked study participants to check in with others in small ways (a text, a brief call, a short email), then directed both sides of the interaction to rate how meaningful it was. Those who reached out routinely underestimated how much their small act meant to the recipient. Researchers found that the impact of the message increased with how surprising the check-in was. People we haven't spoken to in a while or with whom we aren't as close are even more grateful to hear from us. Our thought bubble: Long life experience shows us it's impossible to be too attentive to friends, relatives or coworkers — to check in too often. You think you know someone, then they make some radical life decision — and you realize you didn't know them as well as you thought you did. Even with people you truly know, life happens fast. Life-changing health news, work change, family rupture — any of those could happen the minute you put the phone down. Zoom out: All that was true even before COVID. But back then, you'd see people at work or church, and you'd get a sense of their mood and how they were doing. Now, in many cases, you have zero idea how someone actually is, even if you're Zooming with them. You have to ask. Action item: That makes the proactive, intentional check-in more vital than ever. A transactional text or Zoom doesn't work. You have to ask: How are you? What's going on? What can I do? What are you struggling with? What's the best thing that happened to you lately? Share this story.     A message from Goldman Sachs Policymakers must do more to help small businesses     Today's economic environment is tough for America's small businesses. A new survey of Goldman Sachs' 10,000 Small Businesses, a network of 245,000 employees creating $17 billion in annual revenues, found 93% are worried about a recession. Policymakers should be doing more to help.     📨 Hail, snail mail If you're looking for a way to spice up your check-in: "[H]andwritten letters offer a sense of tactility and permanence, especially now that texts and Instagram posts are quickly buried under newer ones," Daniel Taub writes for Bloomberg Businessweek. Putting pen to paper instantly sets you apart — whether you're thanking a job interviewer, courting someone new or wishing mom a happy birthday. Try it!   Thanks for reading. Invite your friends to sign up. Are you a fan of this email format? It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 300 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. Change your preferences or unsubscribe here.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: