Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is that if there is someone you would like
Speaker 1: to get to know better, say so. Letting people know
Speaker 1: that you consider them a friend can make a real
Speaker 1: friendship far more possible. So, you probably encounter dozens of
Speaker 1: people every week in your day to day life. Some
Speaker 1: of them you probably know well. Others are fine as
Speaker 1: casual acquaintances, but there may be a handful of people
Speaker 1: you see regularly that you would like to get to
Speaker 1: know better. Connecting a little more doesn't have to be
Speaker 1: a huge time commitment. Simply saying that the other person
Speaker 1: should consider you a friend or referring to them as
Speaker 1: a friend can go a long way. It lets the
Speaker 1: other person know that you would welcome making your connection
Speaker 1: a little deeper. So, for instance, when you run into
Speaker 1: a yoga classmate at the grocery store, introduce her to
Speaker 1: your kids as your friend from yoga, and suddenly she
Speaker 1: is your friend. You have affirmed the relationship which you
Speaker 1: have been building when you chat after class every week.
Speaker 1: If you are wrapping up a work project with a
Speaker 1: colleague from another department, and want to maintain the relationship,
Speaker 1: Say so, I appreciated getting to work with you on
Speaker 1: this project, and I'd love to stay in touch. Especially
Speaker 1: if the colleague is new to your organization or more
Speaker 1: junior than you, you could be even more direct and
Speaker 1: say consider me a friend. You could invite them to
Speaker 1: reach out if you could ever be helpful, But in
Speaker 1: any case, simply vocalizing that you see them as a
Speaker 1: valued colleague and friend is enough, because when you are
Speaker 1: friends and trusted colleagues, of course you can reach out
Speaker 1: to each other for help or insight. After the last
Speaker 1: meet for your kids summer swim team, don't just say
Speaker 1: goodbye to the other parents the same way you would
Speaker 1: on any other day. If there is a parent you
Speaker 1: want to keep in touch with, let them know you
Speaker 1: can be direct without really feeling awkward. Simply saying let's
Speaker 1: keep in touch or consider me a friend. We'll get
Speaker 1: the message across. Or with an upbeat, casual tone, you
Speaker 1: could say text me friend and pave the way for
Speaker 1: the relationship to continue. Let them know that your connection
Speaker 1: doesn't have to end with the swim season. Once you
Speaker 1: have affirmed that you want to move from acquaintance to
Speaker 1: friend or close colleague. There are a few steps you
Speaker 1: can take to move that along. For instance, if the
Speaker 1: other person says I'd love to stay in touch, you
Speaker 1: might offer up something adjacent to what you already do together.
Speaker 1: For instance, if you see a colleague in the break
Speaker 1: room when you eat your lunch, mention that you've been
Speaker 1: wanting to try the new Vietnamese restaurant in a neighborhood
Speaker 1: and ask if they'd like to join you. Ask the
Speaker 1: mom of the kid on your soccer team if she'd
Speaker 1: like to walk laps around the field with you. An
Speaker 1: even more low key option for deepening a connection is
Speaker 1: to text the person On occasion, if you see something
Speaker 1: funny or that makes you think of them, send it along.
Speaker 1: If you know the person has traveled somewhere, ask for tips. Eventually,
Speaker 1: a texting relationship can become deeper. Given how many people
Speaker 1: want more connection in life, I don't think you need
Speaker 1: to worry about feeling too forward with all of this.
Speaker 1: Most people will appreciate your letting them know that they
Speaker 1: can consider you a friend. You might be able to
Speaker 1: get something on the calendar together, something that you will
Speaker 1: be looking forward to in the meantime. This is Laura,
Speaker 1: thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've
Speaker 1: got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at
Speaker 1: Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a
Speaker 1: production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit
Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
Speaker 1: your favorite shows.