"Can You Spare a Minute?"
How many times do I get asked that question in an average week ... just minding my own business ... heading in to grab some grocery item ... walking through downtown ... on my way for coffee? I'm not a fan of that question on a number of levels. First of all, it implies that the intended interchange is only going to take a minute, when a more honest inquiry might be "Can you spare 10 to 15 minutes". Secondly, there is a level of guilt imposed when my first reaction is "no, I really can't". I mean really, am I that busy that I cannot invest 60 seconds out of my daily allotment of 86,400 in the life of another human? None of us are that busy. Lastly, no where in this interchange is there any indication that what is most likely being sought is some sort of financial investment. "Oh you don't have cash on you, that's no problem, we can take a card or Venmo". Practically speaking, one could say just don't engage. Just ignore. Just say