Wait, I haven’t finished.

There is nothing more embarrassing than seeing a grown man dribble in his pants after he has supposedly urinated in full. But that happens so often that it has stopped surprising me.

It could be due to a medical condition or simply old age but often men (and maybe women too) find it impossible to control the last drops that appear just when they thought their job was over and it was all zipped up.

This is when a friend told me about the 3 Second Rule that suggested strongly that everyone after a certain age or with a particular medical condition, say diabetes, wait for a few seconds after they thought they had finished. This would avoid unnecessary dribbles and drip overs.

It made sense. And since I am one of the effected, I found the advise quite useful.

In fact the more I thought about it, the more I was convinced that the rule applied to more than just bladder behaviour.

Think about it. It’s a simple conversation. Two people engaged in dialogue. One of them finishes and turns away and for all practical purposes the conversation is over. But what about the leftover conversation. That smirk, that smile, that frown, those afterthoughts.

Sometimes the entire meaning of the conversation can change in the light of these expressions. But do we listen?

Most often we don’t. And miss that blush, miss that look of love and concern. Miss that nuance that takes relationships to a next level. Maybe, just maybe we should practise the 3 Second Rule and the world can be a more beautiful place where conversations don’t end with a comma.

Let me know what you think. You have 3 Seconds. And your time starts now…