WEBVTT - Second Cup: Stay in touch

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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 stay in touch. While social media makes

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<v Speaker 1>it easy to believe we are still in contact with

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<v Speaker 1>people from the past, more personal approaches are better for

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<v Speaker 1>truly keeping a relationship strong. Modern communication is often strange.

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<v Speaker 1>There are a few folks who I have met once

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<v Speaker 1>or twice over the years, and I have followed them

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<v Speaker 1>on social media as you do, and I feel like

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<v Speaker 1>we have stayed in touch. But then when I bother

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<v Speaker 1>to look back, I see it has been years since

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<v Speaker 1>the last email we have sent to each other. I

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<v Speaker 1>wouldn't fault them for not remembering who on earth I

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<v Speaker 1>was if all I'm doing is liking their posts. But

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<v Speaker 1>what's funny about that is that reading all of their

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<v Speaker 1>posts and such took a reasonable amount of time. It's

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<v Speaker 1>just that that time wasn't actually invested in building the relationship.

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<v Speaker 1>Since it is easy to not stay in touch, it

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<v Speaker 1>helps to be a bit more systematic about it. No,

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<v Speaker 1>you don't have to be too systematic. Perhaps you have

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<v Speaker 1>folks in your life who unfailingly contact you. At the

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<v Speaker 1>beginning of January the beginning of April, the beginning of July,

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<v Speaker 1>and so forth. What's happened is they have probably created

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<v Speaker 1>a schedule to reach out to everyone they know every

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<v Speaker 1>ninety days, and that happens to be when your date

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<v Speaker 1>comes up. It is kind of funny. But on the

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<v Speaker 1>other hand, I will say that you probably remember these

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<v Speaker 1>people's names. That's more than we can say for most

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<v Speaker 1>of us. To perhaps feel a bit more authentic about

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<v Speaker 1>the process, it's best to just carve out some time

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<v Speaker 1>every week or ideally each day to reach out to people.

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<v Speaker 1>My friend Molly Beck wrote a book about doing just that.

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<v Speaker 1>It's called reach Out, and each weekday she reaches out

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<v Speaker 1>to one new person. Not all of these messages come

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<v Speaker 1>to anything, but some do. I was the target of

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<v Speaker 1>a reach out in twenty thirteen and we have stayed

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<v Speaker 1>in touch ever since. She was recently a guest on

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<v Speaker 1>my other podcast, Best of Both Worlds. But it's not

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<v Speaker 1>just about reaching out to new people. I think Molly

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<v Speaker 1>would tell you that reaching out in order to stay

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<v Speaker 1>in touch with existing contacts is one of the most

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<v Speaker 1>efficient ways to do anything in this world. For instance,

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<v Speaker 1>let's say you need to hire someone, especially if it's

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<v Speaker 1>for the sort of job that people don't spend their

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<v Speaker 1>whole lives doing. You probably have a wide pool of

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<v Speaker 1>people you know who have worked with you in the past.

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<v Speaker 1>If you have stayed in touch. That's how you can

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<v Speaker 1>find someone you liked who might want to come back

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<v Speaker 1>for a while. If you need to learn about a

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<v Speaker 1>new topic or find a friend in a new town,

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<v Speaker 1>the folks you've met in the past will be there

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<v Speaker 1>to help out if you stay in touch. One way

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<v Speaker 1>to stay in touch might be to use social media strategically.

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<v Speaker 1>Follow people as you normally would, but whenever you see

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<v Speaker 1>someone post something interesting, write a personal note to them

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<v Speaker 1>about it. It will stand out more than it would

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<v Speaker 1>in a slew of comments and likes. Occasionally scroll through

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<v Speaker 1>lists of people you follow. If you haven't heard from

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<v Speaker 1>someone in a while, and especially if they haven't been

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<v Speaker 1>posting much, reach out to see what they are up to.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometimes it helps to have a reason to make this

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<v Speaker 1>feel authentic, but I am sure you can come up

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<v Speaker 1>with one if you need to. Hey, I just saw

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<v Speaker 1>John from our dorm last week and it reminded me

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<v Speaker 1>to say hello. Or I just went to Puerto Rico

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<v Speaker 1>last month and I remembered that trip you took there

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<v Speaker 1>when we were first working together. This is not rocket science.

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<v Speaker 1>You can do this if it helps you stay accountable.

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<v Speaker 1>You can set this as a daily task, as Molly

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<v Speaker 1>recommends doing, or write down the names of folks you've

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<v Speaker 1>reached out to in a notebook. Make sure that some

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<v Speaker 1>of your messages aren't just responses. You are initiating outgoing

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<v Speaker 1>ones two and don't expect miracles overnight from just staying

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<v Speaker 1>in touch. It helps to begin this discipline. When you

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<v Speaker 1>don't actually need anything, you are just being sociable. You

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<v Speaker 1>are just expressing interest in other people's lives. But when

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<v Speaker 1>you do need something, you are not realizing that. Again,

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<v Speaker 1>you haven't reached out to someone in six years, and

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<v Speaker 1>by the way, they've closed that mailbox. Whoops. 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. Hey, everybody, I'd love to

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<v Speaker 1>hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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<v Speaker 1>or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's b E the

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<v Speaker 1>number four then Breakfast Pod. You can also shoot me

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<v Speaker 1>an email at Before Breakfast Podcast at iHeartMedia dot Com

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<v Speaker 1>that before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters,

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<v Speaker 1>thanks so much, should I look forward to staying in touch.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts

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