This happened over 25 years ago but I still remember it.
When I was an instrument man for a small surveying firm, I was new, young, and being trained by the party chief that had twenty years of field experience and was quite the outdoorsman. It was very hot outside, and we were way out in the county surveying a large tract of land. I had a good set up and the party chief was about 300 feet ahead of me with a prism pole. The rodman, who was also new on the job, had stayed back for whatever reason and we began a conversation. The party chief stopped working, and started walking the 300 feet back to my set up where the rod man and myself stood. I wondered why doesn't use the radio, and was confused on why he would walk 300 feet back to me when he just walked 300 out away from the set up location. When he arrived, he grabbed my forearm and got my attention and said "I don't care if you talk on the job, I actually encourage it, however if you talk, I would require that you don't stop working while you talk". That got my attention, and it stuck as a memory to this very day. Now, I see so many people that stop working when they start talking on the job. I think working is a skill, being able to work, while talking, is another skill.
Reprinted from EngineerSupply Blog
Thoughts