WEBVTT - Second Cup: Smile at 10

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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 smile at anyone in your orbit when

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<v Speaker 1>you are within ten feet of them, and to greet

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<v Speaker 1>anyone within five feet. This rule of thumb can prompt

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<v Speaker 1>you to be friendly without having to overthink what is appropriate.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip, like some others, recently, comes from Robert Sutton

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<v Speaker 1>and Huggy Rowse book The Friction Project. In this book,

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<v Speaker 1>they share a tip from the nonprofit health system Oxner Health.

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<v Speaker 1>According to the authors, at Oxner Health, employees are expected

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<v Speaker 1>to make eye contact and smile at a colleague or

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<v Speaker 1>patient anytime they are within ten feet of each other,

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<v Speaker 1>and to say hello to anyone within five feet. Now.

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<v Speaker 1>When I first heard all this, I found it a

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<v Speaker 1>little strange. Does anyone really need a company policy that

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<v Speaker 1>is so specific? But I know that a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>organizations expect staff to be friendly to colleagues and customers,

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<v Speaker 1>but don't spell out what that means. We all come

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<v Speaker 1>to work with different backgrounds and different temperaments and different expectations.

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<v Speaker 1>Giving a general guideline means that people don't have to

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<v Speaker 1>guess what being friendly would look like. As long as

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<v Speaker 1>no one goes overboard about this, like I sincerely hope

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<v Speaker 1>people aren't being disciplined for not smiling until eight feet

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<v Speaker 1>or something like that, a rule of thumb like this

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<v Speaker 1>can be helpful. You might consider adopting such a rule

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<v Speaker 1>of thumb in your own life too. I know I

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<v Speaker 1>spend an unfortunate amount of bandwidth when I am out

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<v Speaker 1>running or walking wondering when it is appropriate to wave

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<v Speaker 1>to a fellow jogger, and then maybe doing it too

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<v Speaker 1>early and they miss it, and then I either have

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<v Speaker 1>to do it again or they think I'm being rude,

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<v Speaker 1>and you can see why I sometimes wind up on

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<v Speaker 1>the treadmill out of sheer awkwardness. But a rule like

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<v Speaker 1>this takes the guesswork out of these things. Whenever you

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<v Speaker 1>are somewhere that there is an assumed or actual relationship,

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<v Speaker 1>like at work, school, your house of worship, the dog park,

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<v Speaker 1>you can smile at ten and greet at five. This

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<v Speaker 1>might nudge you to be just a little friendlier than

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<v Speaker 1>you otherwise would be, which will probably make you and

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<v Speaker 1>those in your community feel a little more connected. Of course,

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<v Speaker 1>if if smiling at ten feet and greeting at five

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<v Speaker 1>seems a bit over eager or two outgoing for you.

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<v Speaker 1>You could adapt the distances to fit your circumstances. Maybe

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<v Speaker 1>if you are a little more reserved, or you're in

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<v Speaker 1>a more reserved and solemn organization, you don't need to

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<v Speaker 1>actively greet people. You can just smile and nod. Or

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<v Speaker 1>maybe you spend your days somewhere where full on hugs

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<v Speaker 1>are demanded anytime you are within twenty feet of someone.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know, but whatever specifics are right for you,

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<v Speaker 1>or for your team at work, or for your family too,

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<v Speaker 1>I think it is wise to have routine for how

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<v Speaker 1>you will interact with other people when you cross paths

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<v Speaker 1>with them. You can add a bit of automatic connection

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<v Speaker 1>and positivity to your days and we can all appreciate that.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for

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<v Speaker 1>listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,

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<v Speaker 1>you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

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

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