As Javier heard me talk about working with adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), his face brightened with understanding. Javier explained that he has a qualified client prospect who doesn't return phone calls and is hard to pin down for future meetings . Could this creative musician prospect be an example of an adult with ADHD symptoms or tendencies, Javier wondered aloud?
An adult with diagnosed or undiagnosed ADHD may have a short attention span, be distractible, have space and/or time organization issues, difficulty with follow-up, and be impulsive.
An ADHD adult is likely to be creative, a risk taker, inquisitive, resourceful, spontaneous, energetic, charming, and accepting Challenges of the ADHD adult can include missed deadlines, forgetfulness, tendency to be easily sidetracked, procrastination, risk taking, and spontaneity.
Here are some ideas of to help you work with the creative person who has the symtoms of ADHD:
- Appeal to the strengths and minimize the challenges as you interface with the client.
- Take all initiative in setting your meetings. While the creative prospect may mean to call you back, don’t rely on her returning phone calls in a timely manner. Email or phone messages may be ignored because they pile up, not because doing business with you is unimportant.
- Appeal to the prospect’s imagination via creative meeting settings.
- Package or bundle your product so fewer decisions need to be made as he may get bogged down with multiple steps or complex decision-making.
- Appeal to the emotional side of prospect rather than using logic as you would with other prospects.
- Control as many distractions as possible as you meet with the prospect.
- Prospect may be antsy sitting at a table. She may function better while in motion. Consider how you might involve some physical activity in your meetings with prospect.
- Minimize the amount of details in the information you present.
You can use these strategies in working with co-workers, family members and friends who exhibit some ADHD symtoms.
Would you let us know the effect of implementing at least one of these suggestions ? We would like to hear from you.
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