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 for when you are asked to share
Speaker 1: a fun fact to introduce yourself. Use the fun fact
Speaker 1: to enable connection, help people remember you, or turn attention
Speaker 1: to the work at hand. So when new groups of
Speaker 1: people come together to form a team or to experience
Speaker 1: something together, they are often asked to introduce themselves by
Speaker 1: sharing a fun fact. Lots of people find this a
Speaker 1: bit annoying. I will admit that I am one of them.
Speaker 1: Many fun facts are boring. Many truly fun facts could
Speaker 1: send the entire gathering off the rails if you share them,
Speaker 1: so best to avoid that unless that is your plan.
Speaker 1: But even if the question feels annoying or awkward, stating
Speaker 1: a fun fact can be approached as an opportunity to
Speaker 1: do something a little more than fun. You can use
Speaker 1: the fact to do something useful for yourself or the gathering.
Speaker 1: The first approach is to choose a fun fact that
Speaker 1: intentionally sparks conversation. Later, try a few out in different
Speaker 1: gatherings until you get one that leads to people asking
Speaker 1: direct follow up questions that you actually want to talk about.
Speaker 1: For instance, I lived on a boat for a year,
Speaker 1: you might say, if you did and like to talk
Speaker 1: all things nautical, or I have five daughters. If you
Speaker 1: do and you want to talk about kids, Share a
Speaker 1: fun fact about a hobby or someplace you travel frequently,
Speaker 1: and you will give your new teammates an obvious topic
Speaker 1: to ask you about. This is a gift to everyone
Speaker 1: for the next break time conversation. Another very useful approach
Speaker 1: is to choose a fun fact that helps people remember
Speaker 1: your name. So, for instance, if your parents named j
Speaker 1: Rosie because you had pink cheeks as a baby, sharing
Speaker 1: that as a fun fact means people will be more
Speaker 1: likely to remember you. If you are in a region
Speaker 1: where double names like Mary Douglas are unusual, your fun
Speaker 1: fact can be that you were named for your mom's
Speaker 1: sister Mary and your dad's brother Douglas, and that your
Speaker 1: family has lived in the same town in North Carolina
Speaker 1: for four generations. Everybody will know to address you as
Speaker 1: Mary Douglas, not as Mary, and they may ask you
Speaker 1: about your hometown and your extended family. In this vein,
Speaker 1: I could share as a fun fact that my mother's
Speaker 1: maiden name is incredibly close to my last name, which
Speaker 1: is to say, my father's name. But my parents don't
Speaker 1: find that a strange coincidence at all, because in the
Speaker 1: ethnically Dutch community where they grew up, a lot of
Speaker 1: people had names starting with Vander, so two Vander names
Speaker 1: are not the same name at all. A final approach
Speaker 1: is to share a fact that connects you to the
Speaker 1: purpose of the gathering. Unlike the other approaches, this version
Speaker 1: of the fun fact would have to be tailored to
Speaker 1: each specific gathering, but when you can do it, this
Speaker 1: may make the whole exercise feel a little less awkward,
Speaker 1: since you are focusing attention on the work at hand
Speaker 1: and not on yourself. So, for instance, if you are
Speaker 1: asked to share a fun fact about yourself with the
Speaker 1: newcomer ministry team at your church, you could disc I
Speaker 1: have your first visit to the church and explain how
Speaker 1: that motivated you to get involved. If you are on
Speaker 1: the Angel Tree team at your workplace, your fun fact
Speaker 1: might be that you received Angel Tree gifts as a kid,
Speaker 1: so you are grateful to be able to give back.
Speaker 1: If you are sharing a fun fact in a beginner's
Speaker 1: yoga workshop, your fun fact might be that this is
Speaker 1: the first organized physical activity you've done since your third
Speaker 1: grade soccer team, so your teacher and classmates will know
Speaker 1: to be especially gentle. When we think of fun facts
Speaker 1: is more than just fun. They can become tools for
Speaker 1: building meaningful connections that can make the whole experience a
Speaker 1: little less annoying. Do you have a fun fact that
Speaker 1: you love to share in groups? You can let me
Speaker 1: know at Laura at Laura Vanderkamp dot com. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 1: the moose of our time. Hey everybody, I'd love to
Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the
Speaker 1: number four then Breakfast p o D. You can also
Speaker 1: shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcast at i
Speaker 1: heeart Media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out
Speaker 1: with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward
Speaker 1: to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of
Speaker 1: 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. Word don't get get