I have may too much experience with tough conversations with seniors. Once I visited with a client and we worked on a few things she was having a hard time with. The display was dark, like night mode, She needed help with Teams and we began looking into that, and she didn’t recall the PIN that was being used. She shuffled through her hand written notes in an attempt to locate it, but could not find it. She did have her account password, so that was a win (It was written down). I helped her change her pin to a 4 digit number she used all the time. She recalled one right away, and I plugged that in. I logged out, had her login again, using the new PIN, and she got right in. Then she wrote down the PIN on a piece of paper which had all kinds of account access info on it.

One thing I noted, was that when I asked questions like, email address for the account, or a question like, “What else can I help you with?” She was instantly visibly nervous about recalling this information. What things are you having problems with and how can I help you with them?

When I asked that, she was a little uneasy and could not remember and embarrassed. It was clearly tough for her.

I’m far from a doctor with bedside manners. I’m a guy who likes geeky stuff like computers, tools, and guy stuff. I’m direct in what I ask and it’s served me well for many year in business, but in reading my new client’s faces, It was little too much for her to handle. I took a mental note of that and understood that it was calm, patience that was needed, and the most important things to exercise. Except for listening, and understanding the issue that the client may be having.

Something I’ve noticed, seniors who have phones and social media accounts are a little more wound up and can get frustrated easily with it. All facets. I’m not sure it’s good. I’ve had the conversations about getting mom a phone, or setting up a Facebook account so Grandpa can see family online. It is a great thought, but I know I don’t need it at my age, and they need it even less. Doom scrolling is a real thing and it serves no purpose for seniors except in exposing them to more advertising and possible scams.
Give them a break and let me help