Transactional relationships
The transaction is fine as long as it's named, right?
Today write about transactional relationships. Perhaps that means writing about mistaking good customer service for flirting, or about those kind of friends who only ping you when they need help moving or when they want an introduction to someone you know. Perhaps it means ways in which you might be using someone as a means to an end, or taking a long look at yourself and the extend to which you do or do not nurture your network on the regular. Maybe it means writing about the dynamics of a business partnership. Or, there’s a philosophical angle to take here, too in exploring the idea that perhaps a purely transactional interaction is fine so long as it’s clear to all.
(I’d much rather get a note saying hey, I barely know you but you seem like the person to ask about XYZ than a heyyyyyy, friend, how are you? Let’s catch up soon… only to find out later there was a hidden motive to ask for a referral or help or pitch me about joining an MLM or whatever all the while.)
Whatever the case, start here with this idea of a transactional framing of a relationship and see where it takes you in your writing. Let’s go.
