1 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:07,640 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:08,840 --> 00:00:14,800 Speaker 2: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:20,680 Speaker 2: Today's tip is about how to have casual relationship building 4 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:24,600 Speaker 2: conversations with people you would like to get to know professionally, 5 00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:29,440 Speaker 2: even if you are not in the same place. A 6 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:32,080 Speaker 2: virtual coffee date is a great way to build your 7 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:35,720 Speaker 2: network and maybe enjoy a little downtime in your day 8 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:40,480 Speaker 2: as well. Whether you work in the office five days 9 00:00:40,479 --> 00:00:44,560 Speaker 2: a week or are part of an entirely virtual team, 10 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:47,880 Speaker 2: my guess is that at least some of your professional 11 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:52,680 Speaker 2: relationships are mostly virtual now. It can be harder to 12 00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:55,480 Speaker 2: get to know your colleagues when you never cross paths 13 00:00:55,480 --> 00:01:01,520 Speaker 2: in person, but it is not impossible, and doing so 14 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:06,920 Speaker 2: will help you do your job effectively and efficiently. This 15 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:10,840 Speaker 2: is where virtual coffees come in. If you join the 16 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:15,880 Speaker 2: workforce before twenty twenty, you no doubt had coffee dates 17 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:19,240 Speaker 2: with co workers, clients, and people you met at conferences 18 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:23,600 Speaker 2: or networking events. Meeting someone for coffee is a casual, 19 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:27,759 Speaker 2: low pressure way to get to know someone better. There 20 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:31,520 Speaker 2: is usually no formal agenda. Usually it is not a 21 00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:35,600 Speaker 2: ton of time, almost always less than an hour. But 22 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:39,920 Speaker 2: the upside from these casual conversations is that you know 23 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:44,000 Speaker 2: the person a little better, know what they're interested in, 24 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 2: and know how they work. You trust each other more 25 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:53,600 Speaker 2: and that makes it easier to get things done. In 26 00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:57,520 Speaker 2: the past, these coffees were obviously assumed to be in 27 00:01:57,600 --> 00:02:01,200 Speaker 2: person where you have coffee together, But as more people 28 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:05,000 Speaker 2: work remotely, and as more people take advantage of virtual 29 00:02:05,040 --> 00:02:11,200 Speaker 2: meeting technology, you can certainly recreate these casual conversations in 30 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:15,920 Speaker 2: virtual form. So why not bring it up. If there 31 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:18,600 Speaker 2: is someone you'd like to get to know, you could 32 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:20,920 Speaker 2: send a note saying that if we were in the 33 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:24,200 Speaker 2: same place, I'd suggest we grab coffee to get to 34 00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:27,359 Speaker 2: know each other. But since we are in different places, 35 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:32,959 Speaker 2: what about virtual coffee? If the person accepts a thirty 36 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:36,760 Speaker 2: minute video call can work just fine. Send a calendar 37 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:40,160 Speaker 2: invitation with a link, just as you would for a meeting, 38 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:43,519 Speaker 2: and you can, of course just show up at the 39 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:47,200 Speaker 2: appointed time, But it might be wise to make best 40 00:02:47,320 --> 00:02:50,359 Speaker 2: use of your time by thinking it through in advance. 41 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:54,880 Speaker 2: Consider what you'd like to talk about. Has the person 42 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:58,400 Speaker 2: mentioned anything important to them that you could ask about. 43 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:02,520 Speaker 2: Maybe you've picked up on some detail of their personal 44 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:06,240 Speaker 2: life where you have an overlap kids of the same 45 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:11,000 Speaker 2: age previously living in the same town. That sort of thing. 46 00:03:12,480 --> 00:03:16,360 Speaker 2: To help the conversation along, think about some questions and 47 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:21,560 Speaker 2: conversation starters. You want the call to feel casual but focused, 48 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:25,320 Speaker 2: so one approach is to have a list of questions 49 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:29,880 Speaker 2: you could ask, but then let the conversation flow naturally, 50 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:33,240 Speaker 2: rather than feeling like you have to ask all the 51 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:38,120 Speaker 2: questions in a pre planned sequence. You should also think 52 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:42,400 Speaker 2: about how you want to answer these same questions, since 53 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:45,480 Speaker 2: anyone with a modest amount of social skills will not 54 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:50,440 Speaker 2: to say and how about you? After answering anything extensively, 55 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:55,480 Speaker 2: think about what you would like to share a milestone 56 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:58,880 Speaker 2: you have just reached, a project you are excited about 57 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:02,480 Speaker 2: that you like to spend your lunch break weading your garden. 58 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:07,640 Speaker 2: Since this is a professional colleague, be sure you learn 59 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:11,280 Speaker 2: a little bit about what makes them tick professionally. If 60 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:13,960 Speaker 2: you are new at a company and having coffee with 61 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:18,600 Speaker 2: a more experienced colleague, this is a great opportunity to ask, 62 00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:21,680 Speaker 2: what do I need to know or do to be 63 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:26,040 Speaker 2: successful here? Or what do people who thrive here have 64 00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:30,120 Speaker 2: in common? If there is something you are aiming for 65 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:33,000 Speaker 2: feel free to share it. Not so much that you 66 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:35,440 Speaker 2: intend to become CEO in the next two years, but 67 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:38,760 Speaker 2: if you always love to work on events or want 68 00:04:38,760 --> 00:04:43,080 Speaker 2: to do more writing, people should know about that. Since 69 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:47,760 Speaker 2: a virtual coffee is about building relationships, use open ended 70 00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:50,960 Speaker 2: questions that people can take in whatever direction they want. 71 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:55,039 Speaker 2: A question like what keeps you engaged when you're not 72 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:59,720 Speaker 2: at work. Lets a person share about their family, their hobbies, 73 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:03,000 Speaker 2: a new skill they're trying to build, or any other 74 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:06,760 Speaker 2: topic that is important to them and that they are 75 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:10,880 Speaker 2: comfortable sharing with you. Think about what you want to 76 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:17,400 Speaker 2: share too, information about family members, pets, hobbies, volunteer commitments, 77 00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:22,599 Speaker 2: and so forth. A practical note, since you are not 78 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:26,840 Speaker 2: actually at a coffee shop, you don't have to purchase 79 00:05:26,839 --> 00:05:29,960 Speaker 2: a cup of coffee to be sitting there, but it's 80 00:05:30,040 --> 00:05:32,560 Speaker 2: kind of nice to have a cup of coffee or 81 00:05:32,680 --> 00:05:35,880 Speaker 2: a glass of lemonade or something up on your screen 82 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:39,840 Speaker 2: that signals this is a casual conversation rather than a 83 00:05:39,839 --> 00:05:43,839 Speaker 2: formal meeting. You might also move away from your desk 84 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:47,680 Speaker 2: and sit in a more comfortable spot like a couch 85 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:53,359 Speaker 2: or maybe even your hammock outside. As with in person coffees, 86 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:56,520 Speaker 2: it is always nice to follow up with a note 87 00:05:56,839 --> 00:06:01,360 Speaker 2: saying that you enjoyed meeting the person. Assuming you did, 88 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:05,760 Speaker 2: you can thank people for their time regardless and make 89 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:08,719 Speaker 2: a note about anything you plan to follow up. On 90 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:14,200 Speaker 2: the upside of a virtual coffee is that you don't 91 00:06:14,279 --> 00:06:18,159 Speaker 2: even need to build in travel time. This can truly 92 00:06:18,200 --> 00:06:21,680 Speaker 2: be a quick thirty minute thing which could fit in 93 00:06:21,720 --> 00:06:25,120 Speaker 2: a packed day in a way that driving to Starbucks 94 00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:29,600 Speaker 2: from your office often can't. So if anything, you can 95 00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:33,680 Speaker 2: err on the side of scheduling more virtual coffees. It 96 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:37,080 Speaker 2: is a small investment of time that can have a 97 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:40,440 Speaker 2: big payoff in your relationships. 98 00:06:41,839 --> 00:06:45,760 Speaker 1: Do you have virtual coffees. I'd love to hear about them. 99 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:52,599 Speaker 1: You can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. 100 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:57,800 Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening and 101 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:00,800 Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. 102 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:09,880 Speaker 2: Hey everybody, I'd love to hear from you. You can 103 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:12,520 Speaker 2: send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. 104 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:16,880 Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at 105 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:21,760 Speaker 1: Before Breakfast Pod that's b E the number four then 106 00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:23,320 Speaker 1: breakfast Pod. 107 00:07:24,200 --> 00:07:25,920 Speaker 2: You can also shoot me an email. 108 00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:29,960 Speaker 1: At Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com that before 109 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:33,200 Speaker 1: Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much, 110 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:41,400 Speaker 1: should I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast 111 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:45,760 Speaker 1: is a production of iHeartRadio. 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