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Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio.

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Speaker 2: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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Speaker 2: Today's tip is to become a confident conversationalist. If you

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Speaker 2: feel shy or awkward striking up conversations or chatting with colleagues,

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Speaker 2: let this be the year when you build your skills

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Speaker 2: so you can feel great about your interactions. During my

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Speaker 2: recent Better Workday challenge, lots of participants mentioned that they

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Speaker 2: sometimes felt uncomfortable striking up conversations with their colleagues. It

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Speaker 2: felt easier to just keep their heads down and communicate electronically.

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Speaker 2: So if you feel a little self conscious about chitchat,

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Speaker 2: know that you are not alone. But if you are

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Speaker 2: not developing relationships with people at work, I'd be missing out.

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Speaker 2: Connecting with your colleagues can make you more effective at

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Speaker 2: your job, and it can also help you feel happier

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Speaker 2: and more comfortable at work. So if you are feeling

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Speaker 2: uncomfortable or shy about connecting, here are some tips. First,

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Speaker 2: friendly questions are conversational openers. Asking someone something that invites

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Speaker 2: authentic sharing but isn't invasive is likely to start a

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Speaker 2: positive conversation, So always have some light questions ready. For instance,

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Speaker 2: on a Friday, you could ask people what they are

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Speaker 2: looking forward to over the weekend. On Monday, you could

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Speaker 2: ask if they did anything exciting or fun or memorable.

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Speaker 2: On any day, you could ask someone about their interests.

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Speaker 2: If you know your colleague likes to read, you could

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Speaker 2: ask her what she's reading now. If you know a

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Speaker 2: colleague likes to go out to restaurants with her daughter,

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Speaker 2: you could ask what they've tried recently. There's a reason

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Speaker 2: people bond over sports. There are lots of games, and

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Speaker 2: they always provide an opening for conversation. Did you see

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Speaker 2: the Grizzlies game last night?

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Speaker 1: That sort of thing. Of course, it's also helpful to

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Speaker 1: have something ready to share. If someone asks you what

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Speaker 1: you've been up to lately, aim to choose something positive,

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Speaker 1: even if you have been dealing with an insurance claim

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Speaker 1: for a tree that fell on your roof. Talking about

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Speaker 1: that probably won't lift either of your moods, though, if

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Speaker 1: you've got a funny anecdote about the process, you could

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Speaker 1: tell that. In addition to choosing a topic that's upbeat,

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Speaker 1: also aim for something that gives a window into what's

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Speaker 1: important to you, as in, I've been loving this mild

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Speaker 1: weather and I've gotten back into cycling lately. Or I'm

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Speaker 1: helping my neighbor get ready for her new baby. Last

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Speaker 1: weekend i helped her paint the nursery, or I've been

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Speaker 1: learning Spanish lately to get ready for a trip to

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Speaker 1: Buenos Aires this spring. This will give any colleague with

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Speaker 1: reasonable social skills an opening to ask you more about

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Speaker 1: these topics. As you both share what you are excited about,

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Speaker 1: you'll be sure to find common ground. In addition to

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Speaker 1: in person chitchat, also try to build in connection when

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Speaker 1: you're communicating across distance. One option could be sending a

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Speaker 1: message on za zoom call to a person who you

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Speaker 1: feel has a little bit of friend potential just notice things.

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Speaker 1: You could write something like I love that painting behind you.

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Speaker 1: Is there a story behind it? It can also be

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Speaker 1: good to include a sentence in emails that's more personal

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Speaker 1: before you get to the main business of the message,

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Speaker 1: so something like I hope you enjoyed the long weekend.

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Speaker 1: I was grateful for the extra time to plan my

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Speaker 1: garden this spring. You don't want to make your email

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Speaker 1: ridiculously long, but offering a little tidbit about yourself can

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Speaker 1: foster a greater sense of connection. If connecting with colleagues

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Speaker 1: still seems intimidating, you could seek out more structure and

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Speaker 1: guidance for your efforts to become a good conversationalist. Some

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Speaker 1: people find it helpful to participate in toast Masters or

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Speaker 1: a similar group that's all about building and practicing or

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Speaker 1: speaking skills in a friendly environment. In any case, since

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Speaker 1: we all have to talk to people all the time,

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Speaker 1: you'd think we could do it well, but that is

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Speaker 1: not always true. Conversation is a skill like anything else.

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Speaker 1: Some people are naturally better at it than others, but

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Speaker 1: we can all get better, and getting better can make

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Speaker 1: work feel more welcoming and fun. In the meantime, this

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Speaker 1: is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the

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Speaker 1: most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.

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Speaker 1: If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach

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Speaker 1: me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast

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Speaker 1: is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,

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Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.