The Best Ice Breaking Networking Question
Talking To Strangers
Many of us are uncomfortable in a room full of strangers. Perhaps that discomfort stems from your childhood when your parents warned you not to talk to strangers. The might even have paired the word stranger with the word danger.
Our early childhood conditioning can be hard to change. Especially when they are connected to fears.
When Did It Become OK?
As we mature and grow up to the point where we can fend for ourselves,talking to people we don’t know is no longer the potential physical threat that it was when you were a defenseless child. Even though we know this, many struggle to let go of our stranger/danger conditioning.
So, please allow me to remind you of two seemly obvious facts:
- It is now OK to talk to strangers.
- Your reluctance to engage with people you don’t know can be hazardous to your wealth!
Two Tips for Improving Your Ability to Break The Ice
1 – Improve Your Mindset
When you find yourself reluctant to strike up a conversation with someone new, stop think of them as a stranger (it still rhymes with danger). Instead, view others as potential friends that you haven’t met yet.
2 – Add This Ice Breaking Skill
After saying hello, ask this simple, open ended question:
Where are you from?
According to Daniel Pink, author of To Sell is Human, this is a better approach than the more commonly used intro: “What do you do?”
Because it is more open ended and less leading, people can take their answers in an assortment of directions. From there you have an opportunity to build deeper rapport by demonstrating that you both listen and care. Get in touch with your inner childlike curiosity and ask follow up questions. When the other person gets around to asking about you, you start with a deeper relationship with this potential friend you hadn’t met yet.
Try it!
