1
00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:06,680
Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

2
00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:15,160
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

3
00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:19,680
Speaker 1: Today's tip is for when you are asked to share

4
00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:24,520
Speaker 1: a fun fact to introduce yourself. Use the fun fact

5
00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:30,600
Speaker 1: to enable connection, help people remember you, or turn attention

6
00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:35,360
Speaker 1: to the work at hand. So when new groups of

7
00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:38,840
Speaker 1: people come together to form a team or to experience

8
00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:43,360
Speaker 1: something together, they are often asked to introduce themselves by

9
00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:47,519
Speaker 1: sharing a fun fact. Lots of people find this a

10
00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:53,159
Speaker 1: bit annoying. I will admit that I am one of them.

11
00:00:53,159 --> 00:01:00,000
Speaker 1: Many fun facts are boring. Many truly fun facts could

12
00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:04,440
Speaker 1: send the entire gathering off the rails if you share them,

13
00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:08,440
Speaker 1: so best to avoid that unless that is your plan.

14
00:01:09,959 --> 00:01:15,320
Speaker 1: But even if the question feels annoying or awkward, stating

15
00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:18,440
Speaker 1: a fun fact can be approached as an opportunity to

16
00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:22,760
Speaker 1: do something a little more than fun. You can use

17
00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:27,360
Speaker 1: the fact to do something useful for yourself or the gathering.

18
00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:31,759
Speaker 1: The first approach is to choose a fun fact that

19
00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:36,520
Speaker 1: intentionally sparks conversation. Later, try a few out in different

20
00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:39,640
Speaker 1: gatherings until you get one that leads to people asking

21
00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:43,160
Speaker 1: direct follow up questions that you actually want to talk about.

22
00:01:43,959 --> 00:01:46,600
Speaker 1: For instance, I lived on a boat for a year,

23
00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:49,120
Speaker 1: you might say, if you did and like to talk

24
00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:53,120
Speaker 1: all things nautical, or I have five daughters. If you

25
00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:56,600
Speaker 1: do and you want to talk about kids, Share a

26
00:01:56,680 --> 00:01:59,600
Speaker 1: fun fact about a hobby or someplace you travel frequently,

27
00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:03,080
Speaker 1: and you will give your new teammates an obvious topic

28
00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:06,720
Speaker 1: to ask you about. This is a gift to everyone

29
00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:12,160
Speaker 1: for the next break time conversation. Another very useful approach

30
00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:16,600
Speaker 1: is to choose a fun fact that helps people remember

31
00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:20,679
Speaker 1: your name. So, for instance, if your parents named j

32
00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:25,120
Speaker 1: Rosie because you had pink cheeks as a baby, sharing

33
00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:27,679
Speaker 1: that as a fun fact means people will be more

34
00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:31,280
Speaker 1: likely to remember you. If you are in a region

35
00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:36,320
Speaker 1: where double names like Mary Douglas are unusual, your fun

36
00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:39,040
Speaker 1: fact can be that you were named for your mom's

37
00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:42,800
Speaker 1: sister Mary and your dad's brother Douglas, and that your

38
00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:45,400
Speaker 1: family has lived in the same town in North Carolina

39
00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:50,000
Speaker 1: for four generations. Everybody will know to address you as

40
00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:54,760
Speaker 1: Mary Douglas, not as Mary, and they may ask you

41
00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:59,040
Speaker 1: about your hometown and your extended family. In this vein,

42
00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:02,560
Speaker 1: I could share as a fun fact that my mother's

43
00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:06,080
Speaker 1: maiden name is incredibly close to my last name, which

44
00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:09,560
Speaker 1: is to say, my father's name. But my parents don't

45
00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:13,040
Speaker 1: find that a strange coincidence at all, because in the

46
00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:16,520
Speaker 1: ethnically Dutch community where they grew up, a lot of

47
00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:22,000
Speaker 1: people had names starting with Vander, so two Vander names

48
00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:26,280
Speaker 1: are not the same name at all. A final approach

49
00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:28,600
Speaker 1: is to share a fact that connects you to the

50
00:03:28,639 --> 00:03:33,720
Speaker 1: purpose of the gathering. Unlike the other approaches, this version

51
00:03:33,760 --> 00:03:36,240
Speaker 1: of the fun fact would have to be tailored to

52
00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:40,440
Speaker 1: each specific gathering, but when you can do it, this

53
00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:44,520
Speaker 1: may make the whole exercise feel a little less awkward,

54
00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:48,000
Speaker 1: since you are focusing attention on the work at hand

55
00:03:48,720 --> 00:03:53,200
Speaker 1: and not on yourself. So, for instance, if you are

56
00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:56,400
Speaker 1: asked to share a fun fact about yourself with the

57
00:03:56,480 --> 00:04:00,040
Speaker 1: newcomer ministry team at your church, you could disc I

58
00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:03,360
Speaker 1: have your first visit to the church and explain how

59
00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:06,800
Speaker 1: that motivated you to get involved. If you are on

60
00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:10,680
Speaker 1: the Angel Tree team at your workplace, your fun fact

61
00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:13,640
Speaker 1: might be that you received Angel Tree gifts as a kid,

62
00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:16,880
Speaker 1: so you are grateful to be able to give back.

63
00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:20,800
Speaker 1: If you are sharing a fun fact in a beginner's

64
00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:24,320
Speaker 1: yoga workshop, your fun fact might be that this is

65
00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:27,719
Speaker 1: the first organized physical activity you've done since your third

66
00:04:27,760 --> 00:04:32,839
Speaker 1: grade soccer team, so your teacher and classmates will know

67
00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:37,440
Speaker 1: to be especially gentle. When we think of fun facts

68
00:04:37,560 --> 00:04:41,479
Speaker 1: is more than just fun. They can become tools for

69
00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:46,719
Speaker 1: building meaningful connections that can make the whole experience a

70
00:04:46,880 --> 00:04:51,560
Speaker 1: little less annoying. Do you have a fun fact that

71
00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:54,359
Speaker 1: you love to share in groups? You can let me

72
00:04:54,400 --> 00:05:01,160
Speaker 1: know at Laura at Laura Vanderkamp dot com. In the meantime,

73
00:05:02,279 --> 00:05:06,880
Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making

74
00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:16,839
Speaker 1: the moose of our time. Hey everybody, I'd love to

75
00:05:16,839 --> 00:05:19,799
Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

76
00:05:19,920 --> 00:05:23,680
Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,

77
00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:28,560
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the

78
00:05:28,680 --> 00:05:32,880
Speaker 1: number four then Breakfast p o D. You can also

79
00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:36,279
Speaker 1: shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcast at i

80
00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:39,400
Speaker 1: heeart Media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out

81
00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:42,160
Speaker 1: with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward

82
00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:50,360
Speaker 1: to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of

83
00:05:50,400 --> 00:05:53,760
Speaker 1: I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,

84
00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:57,760
Speaker 1: visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

85
00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:05,480
Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows. Word don't get get