WEBVTT - Find your watercooler

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to find your water cooler, even if it

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<v Speaker 1>is a metaphorical one. There are lots of benefits to

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<v Speaker 1>having strong relationships with your colleagues or other people in

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<v Speaker 1>your professional network. If you aren't going to automatically bump

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<v Speaker 1>into each other at a water cooler, then create other

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<v Speaker 1>contexts for connecting. There are plenty out there if you

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<v Speaker 1>choose to look. Today's episode was inspired by the fact

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<v Speaker 1>that in my recent Better work Day challenge, a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of participants mentioned that they don't cross paths with colleagues

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<v Speaker 1>as much as they used to. I absolutely love hybrid

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<v Speaker 1>and remote work. In many cases, it is way more efficient.

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<v Speaker 1>It also allows companies to recruit talent that might not

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<v Speaker 1>have been available before. But it does mean that fewer

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<v Speaker 1>people are gathered around a water cooler having casual conversations

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<v Speaker 1>in the break room. Any given conversation about what you

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<v Speaker 1>did over the weekend is not going to be that purposeful,

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<v Speaker 1>but over time, casual interactions build rapport, which allows people

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<v Speaker 1>to work together with more trust. But just because people

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<v Speaker 1>aren't hovering around the proverbial water cooler in the course

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<v Speaker 1>of a regular day doesn't mean that there is no

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<v Speaker 1>way to connect. One pretty easy idea is to sign

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<v Speaker 1>onto zoom calls a little early. Often the host will

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<v Speaker 1>open up the meeting a few minutes before the appointed time,

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<v Speaker 1>just as a regular meeting room would be open before

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<v Speaker 1>the actual meeting. If you're in just two to three

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<v Speaker 1>minutes before, that is a chance to say hello, to

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<v Speaker 1>ask what people are up to, or to mention that

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<v Speaker 1>you saw another former colleague recently, or whatever it is.

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<v Speaker 1>There's no one there will oh well, I am sure

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<v Speaker 1>you are capable of using the time to delete another

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<v Speaker 1>email or two if you don't have to race off

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<v Speaker 1>to the next thing, Especially if you are running the

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<v Speaker 1>virtual meeting, it's great if you can stick around for

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<v Speaker 1>a few minutes to chat with anyone who wants to

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<v Speaker 1>catch up. People don't have to stay, but maybe some will.

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<v Speaker 1>It's wonderful that there are many virtual professional development events

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<v Speaker 1>these days, but it might also be worth going to

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<v Speaker 1>a few more in person events then you might have

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<v Speaker 1>gone to in the past. Maybe your local professional association

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<v Speaker 1>has a happy hour every month or two rally a

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<v Speaker 1>colleague to go with you, so you have someone you

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<v Speaker 1>know and then see if you can bump into a

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<v Speaker 1>few more people you know. Tangentially go to a conference

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<v Speaker 1>or two as well. Chatting in the hallways outside sessions

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<v Speaker 1>is very much the equivalent of a water cooler. Or

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<v Speaker 1>perhaps there's a place people in your industry tend to go.

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<v Speaker 1>In New York City, historically there have been a few

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<v Speaker 1>restaurants where lots of media people have lunch, Or maybe

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<v Speaker 1>there is a wine bar that tends to draw up

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<v Speaker 1>and comers in the non profit world. Whatever it is,

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<v Speaker 1>it might be worth checking out. You might also try

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<v Speaker 1>working elsewhere. From time to time. A local coworking space

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<v Speaker 1>probably has a water cooler and you can chat with

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<v Speaker 1>people there when you take your breaks. And if you

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<v Speaker 1>do work in an office, I actually do find the

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<v Speaker 1>water cooler or whatever your equivalent is. I know people

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<v Speaker 1>who shut themselves in their offices and pride themselves on

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<v Speaker 1>how productive this is, But the truth is it really isn't.

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<v Speaker 1>I am not saying you want to spend your whole

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<v Speaker 1>day gabbing, but if you work with people, connecting with

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<v Speaker 1>those people as part of the job, feeling like you

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<v Speaker 1>can trust each other and that you like each other

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<v Speaker 1>means that people won't assume the worst or take feedback

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<v Speaker 1>the wrong way, or any of those other things that

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<v Speaker 1>can tank a whole team's productivity for days. If you

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<v Speaker 1>work a hybrid schedule, make sure to plan to chat

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<v Speaker 1>with colleagues while you are in the office. Organize a

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<v Speaker 1>coffee break or a walk or something. If you have

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<v Speaker 1>an in person meeting, try to go a few minutes

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<v Speaker 1>early to chat with people before it starts. I know

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<v Speaker 1>some people like to keep work in friendships totally separate,

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<v Speaker 1>but to me, people are people. Even if you aren't

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<v Speaker 1>best friends with your colleagues, it helps to be friendly.

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<v Speaker 1>So find your metaphorical water cooler, and hey, if you

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<v Speaker 1>go to the actual water cooler a lot, maybe you

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<v Speaker 1>you will finally be fully hydrated too. In the meantime,

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<v Speaker 1>this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making

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<v Speaker 1>the most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.

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<v Speaker 1>If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach

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<v Speaker 1>me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,

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<v Speaker 1>listen to your favorite shows.