Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to think ahead of time about conversations
Speaker 1: you are likely to have and consider what you might
Speaker 1: like to say. We can often anticipate the questions people
Speaker 1: might ask. Having a good story or answer in advance
Speaker 1: can make you feel more relaxed in the moment and
Speaker 1: can help you enjoy any event more. If you think
Speaker 1: about it, you realize that at any gathering, the opening
Speaker 1: questions will be relatively predictable. If you are headed to
Speaker 1: a class reunion, you know your classmates will ask what
Speaker 1: you're up to these days. The other parents set back
Speaker 1: to school night, we'll ask how school is going for
Speaker 1: your child. Most likely the icebreaker at a meeting right
Speaker 1: around Thanksgiving, we'll have something to do with what you
Speaker 1: are grateful for. If you are going to a colleague's
Speaker 1: going away party, you will be asked for stories about
Speaker 1: your time together. If you are going to a wedding,
Speaker 1: you will be asked how you know the bride or
Speaker 1: groom or their families. These questions don't really require a
Speaker 1: huge leap of imagination to picture, and yet many of
Speaker 1: us stumble when we are asked these questions, Um, what
Speaker 1: am I up to these days? I don't know school
Speaker 1: is good this year? Or hmm stories about Joan That
Speaker 1: awkwardness can be avoided by giving a moment's thought to
Speaker 1: how you might respond to the questions you know you
Speaker 1: are going to be asked. You don't need a whole
Speaker 1: l of leader speech, but picking some detail that you
Speaker 1: will be happy to talk about can go a long
Speaker 1: way toward making the whole experience more fruitful. So if
Speaker 1: you are on your way to a reunion, you might
Speaker 1: decide that whenever somebody asks you will mention that you
Speaker 1: started a side gig as a professional organizer after your
Speaker 1: last kid left for college. Or if you are in
Speaker 1: the stage of life where you are still doing back
Speaker 1: to school nights, maybe you can answer how much your
Speaker 1: son is enjoying playing trumpet in band. You can pick
Speaker 1: one socially acceptable thing to tell your colleagues you are
Speaker 1: grateful for, like seeing their smiling faces in the break
Speaker 1: room again after a long time of social distancing. If
Speaker 1: you will be interacting with someone who may be slower
Speaker 1: to engage, it can be especially valuable to consider how
Speaker 1: you could spark conversation. For instance, if you are visiting
Speaker 1: a quiet elderly relative, think about family stories or photos
Speaker 1: you'd like to share, or topics you'd like to ask
Speaker 1: your relative about. Of course, there are lots of social
Speaker 1: context when you can't predict the conversation. Who knows what
Speaker 1: topics will come up at the cocktail party or a
Speaker 1: neighborhood barbecue. But you can still have some ideas for
Speaker 1: interesting directions to steer the conversation. Perhaps you can mention
Speaker 1: a book you've recently read that you think others would
Speaker 1: be interested in, an upcoming travel destination, that people might
Speaker 1: have recommendations for a milestone in a child's life. You'd
Speaker 1: love to talk about your hopes for the local sports
Speaker 1: team now that a strong new player has joined the ranks.
Speaker 1: These are all upbeat conversations of broad interest. Consider what
Speaker 1: has made you happy, curious, or hopeful recently, and be
Speaker 1: ready to share it with others. When we think about
Speaker 1: conversations in advance, we can alleviate any anxiety and prepare
Speaker 1: ourselves to move the conversation in interesting, relationship building or
Speaker 1: productive directions. That certainly beats the awkwardness that ensues when
Speaker 1: we don't think about such things. Maybe some folks are
Speaker 1: naturally great conversationalists, many of us are not. Fortunately, it
Speaker 1: doesn't take too much time to prepare, and when we
Speaker 1: do prepare, we can relax and enjoy ourselves rather than
Speaker 1: worrying that we will say the wrong thing. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. M Hey everybody, I'd love
Speaker 1: to hear from you. You can send me your tips,
Speaker 1: your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,
Speaker 1: Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod. That's b E
Speaker 1: the number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can
Speaker 1: also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at
Speaker 1: i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled
Speaker 1: out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look
Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production
Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,
Speaker 1: visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.