Company holiday parties are often a hit or miss for how much fun you are going to have. This is especially true when you don’t work for the company throwing the party but are going with your spouse or a friend. For some people, a few hours of listening to inside jokes that you are on the outside of and hearing comments about bosses that you don't know isn’t the ideal Friday night. As we head into the end of the holiday party season though, these gatherings don't have to be something that you dread, you just have to look at them through a different lens. Company holiday parties where you don’t know a majority of the people there provide a great, and amusing, opportunity to practice reading behavior because they come with a built in feedback loop to let you know if your observations are right or wrong. As long as your significant other, or whomever you go to the party with, is tuned-in to the office politics that drive the relationships and interactions between the partygoers, you can learn the back-story and cause for all of the assessments that you make. Having someone that you can trust to give you the unfiltered inside scoop is a rare opportunity when observing nonverbal behavior, but can have a huge impact on your ability to make accurate assessments in unscripted and less certain environments.
Making The Most Of Holiday Parties
Making The Most Of Holiday Parties
Making The Most Of Holiday Parties
Company holiday parties are often a hit or miss for how much fun you are going to have. This is especially true when you don’t work for the company throwing the party but are going with your spouse or a friend. For some people, a few hours of listening to inside jokes that you are on the outside of and hearing comments about bosses that you don't know isn’t the ideal Friday night. As we head into the end of the holiday party season though, these gatherings don't have to be something that you dread, you just have to look at them through a different lens. Company holiday parties where you don’t know a majority of the people there provide a great, and amusing, opportunity to practice reading behavior because they come with a built in feedback loop to let you know if your observations are right or wrong. As long as your significant other, or whomever you go to the party with, is tuned-in to the office politics that drive the relationships and interactions between the partygoers, you can learn the back-story and cause for all of the assessments that you make. Having someone that you can trust to give you the unfiltered inside scoop is a rare opportunity when observing nonverbal behavior, but can have a huge impact on your ability to make accurate assessments in unscripted and less certain environments.