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 confirm people's mailing addresses, especially if
Speaker 1: you plan to send holiday cards this year, or if
Speaker 1: you have some big event like a birth or move
Speaker 1: coming up, or you'll want to send notices. Reaching out
Speaker 1: to confirm mailing addresses can be a really fun way
Speaker 1: to stay in touch. I was recently preparing to mail
Speaker 1: copies of my new book Tranquility by Tuesday to various people.
Speaker 1: I have a lot of addresses and files from previous mailings,
Speaker 1: but having moved myself recently, and having seen how hard
Speaker 1: it can be to get your address updated various places,
Speaker 1: I figured I should reach out to make sure things
Speaker 1: were accurate. But of course, once you email people that
Speaker 1: you have met in the past, you are reconnecting. Reconnecting
Speaker 1: it's fun. I got all kinds of wonderful responses. I
Speaker 1: learned about people's current lives. I got a few lunch
Speaker 1: dates set up with people who were visiting Philadelphia or
Speaker 1: who lived somewhere that I would be traveling in the
Speaker 1: next few months. I learned about other people's home renovation
Speaker 1: projects that seemed similar to mine, and we commiserated about
Speaker 1: the same things. In this social media era, it is
Speaker 1: tempting to think we know everything about everyone, but we
Speaker 1: really don't. Not everyone wants to share everything, and connecting
Speaker 1: individually is always more meaningful than clicking like on someone's post.
Speaker 1: You don't really need a reason to email old friends
Speaker 1: and colleagues. I can guarantee that they will be almost
Speaker 1: universally happy to hear from you. Anyone who isn't is
Speaker 1: just going to ignore you. They aren't going to send
Speaker 1: a nasty note back telling you to never reach out again. However,
Speaker 1: I do know that it feels a little weird to
Speaker 1: reach out out of the blue, and you might get
Speaker 1: some responses wondering a wee bit if you are okay. So,
Speaker 1: if you are looking for a reason to do this, systematically,
Speaker 1: confirming addresses can be one. It is as simple as
Speaker 1: that you are mailing cards this holiday season and you
Speaker 1: want to be sure you've got the right address. Are
Speaker 1: you still on Maple Street or wherever the person happens
Speaker 1: to live. Say a quick thing or two, and then
Speaker 1: wish the person well. Some folks will just respond with
Speaker 1: yes or a new address. But most will follow up
Speaker 1: with something a bit more friendly and you'll start up
Speaker 1: a new conversation. If nothing else, this will make checking
Speaker 1: your email a lot more fun for at least a
Speaker 1: week or two, so why not give it a shot.
Speaker 1: At least you'll get fewer returned envelopes after the holidays,
Speaker 1: and the upside is anything you can imagine. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most 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 than 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
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Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows. Ye