Interactions can be interventions

In J.B. Priestley’s 1945 play An Inspector Calls, a young woman has committed suicide, and we discover that an entire family indirectly drove her to it: a father sacked her from his employment, a mother then got her sacked from her next job, a son raped her, while a daughter refused the now-pregnant woman charity.

Having interviewed each member of the family in turn, the inspector had this to say:
“One Eva Smith has gone – but there are millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us, with their lives, their hopes and fears, their suffering and chance of happiness, all intertwined with our lives, and what we think and say and do. We don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other…”
When we are engaging with other people in our day-to-day life, how much thought do we give to their mental stability at the very moment they’re in our presence?

“Every interaction can be an intervention” is a quote from Dr Karen Treisman. It suggests that anyone, at any time, can do something positive to affect the life of another person, however big or small this might be. It could be the way in which you welcome someone into a room, your tone of voice, your gestures, your body language, your friendliness and your ability to make someone feel safe in your company.

Everything goes into the mix when it comes to the interpersonal – there is no neutral space; everything is political. You have the power to be a force for good in someone’s life, no matter how fleeting the interaction might be, just as you can be the final nail in the coffin.

What do you think of this idea? Could you take this on board in your personal and professional life?