The power of the T-Shirt should not underrated. Last week, I was in the check out line at the local co-op and the checker commented “I love your T-Shirt!” I looked down to see which T-Shirt I was wearing and it was my “I Love the Oregon Coast” T-Shirt.” She went on to say that she was from Eugene, Oregon which was surprising way out here in Virginia. I went on to tell her that I grew up in Oregon and the conversation just flowed from there. We found out we had so much in common in just 3 minutes at the check out. Pretty cool!
Fantastic, Trish, and I'm delighted you're enjoying the posts! Thanks, too, for that great description of your co-op experience and for sharing it. Now you're making me seriously question my habit of only ever wearing black or gray T-shirts, however!
What a nice post - makes me feel energized to try some tips at my next meeting with strangers. Asking questions is another great tip. Most people love to talk about themselves, so asking questions to dig deeper into a person's job or story is always a great way to get the conversation going.
Thank you, Elies, that’s another great tip, too. There’s a story Dale Carnegie told in his famous book “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” In the book, Carnegie writes of a man who went to a dinner party and decided to only ask questions and listen carefully, showing genuine interest in what other people had to say. He barely spoke about himself at all. Yet afterward, one of the other guests commented something like: “He’s the most interesting conversationalist I’ve ever met!” — even though the man had hardly talked about himself at all!
The power of the T-Shirt should not underrated. Last week, I was in the check out line at the local co-op and the checker commented “I love your T-Shirt!” I looked down to see which T-Shirt I was wearing and it was my “I Love the Oregon Coast” T-Shirt.” She went on to say that she was from Eugene, Oregon which was surprising way out here in Virginia. I went on to tell her that I grew up in Oregon and the conversation just flowed from there. We found out we had so much in common in just 3 minutes at the check out. Pretty cool!
Love your posts, Jon!
Fantastic, Trish, and I'm delighted you're enjoying the posts! Thanks, too, for that great description of your co-op experience and for sharing it. Now you're making me seriously question my habit of only ever wearing black or gray T-shirts, however!
What a nice post - makes me feel energized to try some tips at my next meeting with strangers. Asking questions is another great tip. Most people love to talk about themselves, so asking questions to dig deeper into a person's job or story is always a great way to get the conversation going.
Thank you, Elies, that’s another great tip, too. There’s a story Dale Carnegie told in his famous book “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” In the book, Carnegie writes of a man who went to a dinner party and decided to only ask questions and listen carefully, showing genuine interest in what other people had to say. He barely spoke about himself at all. Yet afterward, one of the other guests commented something like: “He’s the most interesting conversationalist I’ve ever met!” — even though the man had hardly talked about himself at all!