Welcome back to another week of asking you to consider something besides twenty-something dudes wearing fake armor and knocking each other down. It's another Saturday of Football Counter-Programming!
And, as always, here is another Log Lady Introduction to get us started.
This quote introduces the third broadcast of the show, if the Pilot episode has no number. The title of the episode is "Zen, or the Skill to Catch a Killer." In it, we meet Ben Horne's brother Jerry for the first time and discover how much they love to eat food. The Horne brothers also visit One-Eyed Jacks for the first time. Surly FBI Agent Albert Rosenfeld comes to town to aid with some forensic investigation. And, most importantly, Agent Cooper has his first significant dream sequence, going to see the Man from Another Place do his strange dance.
Everyone knows that there are fewer things more tedious than hearing someone else describe their dreams. But I really did have an interesting dream the other night. It was about . . . oh, darn. I honestly can't remember what it was about right now.
I guess you've dodged that bullet.
So, instead, I guess we should instead talk about . . . um . . . well . . . ?
Yikes.
Oh, okay. I'll talk about "saying hello."
How do you like to meet new people? Are you comfortable in a crowd of strangers? Are you always trying to get to know new people and learn more about them? Are you more standoffish, holding back to see if anyone comes up to you and engages you first?
I am much more the latter. If I was going to try and be cool about it, I'd say I was sizing up the room or something like that. But mostly I am anxious about what to say to people I don't know that well. And really, why is that? We all know the drill and we all know how to engage in introductory small talk.
- Hi, my name is _____. Who are you?
- Oh, and you are from _____? I've always wanted to visit there, but I haven't had the chance to get there yet. Maybe someday, right?
- What do you do? Well, that sounds like an interesting job. What do you like about it? Huh. What got you interested in that field?
- Me? Well, I'm a ______. Yeah, I know. Nobody ever thinks that is a job, but someone has to do it right?
- How many kids do you have?/Do you have kids? Yes, those are my kids over there.
etcetera, etcetera, etcetera
It's all very inconsequential and light. (That is why it is called small talk after all.) We all know these basic things about ourselves, ready to deploy them as needed. If you have kids or watch any sports, you've already taken care of 15 to 20 minutes of chatting right there--with no effort.
So, why is it such a big deal? I should just boldly go up to anyone and let my details fly. I mean, I've got a blog that has been public for over a DECADE. I should just type the URL into their smart phone and let them start browsing. Imagine what they could learn about me!
How do you handle these types of introductory situations? What are the types of questions that you typically ask/are asked when you meet someone new? Do you have tips for what to do when engaging in social mingling? Flex your social skills in the comments below.
And, until next week . . . remember--
No one cares if your team has gone undefeated for the last thirty years against early season, in-state opponents.
No comments:
Post a Comment