Meeting People

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Meeting People Starting ConversationsA
leadership training lesson from The Pennsylvania
State University.
This powerpoint should be used in conjunction
with the Starting Conversations lesson plan found
at http//leadership.cas.psu.edu/Training.html
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Starting Conversations Overview

• Introduction
• Lesson Objectives
• Lesson Content
• Reflection Questions
• References

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Introduction

• Important skills for a leader
• Meeting people
• The ability to strike up conversation
• The cornerstone of making connections with those
  inside and outside of our networks
• These are skills that
• Define highly successful people
• Cause other people to listen and follow your lead
• (Peter Murphy, 2000)

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Lesson Objectives

• At the end of the lesson, you will be able to
• Describe the formula for meeting people
• Develop a set of conversation starters designed
  to work in their particular situation

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The Greatest Fear

• Public speaking is number 1 fear among people
• Part of the fear is speaking to strangers
• This makes meeting people and striking up
  conversations difficult
• As a leader, it is important to make strong
  connections with those you know as well as those
  you dont

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A Formula For Meeting People

• 1. Spot someone to talk to
• Scan the room, circulating if the room is a large
  one
• Scan from corner to corner, count to ten as you
  go, and really look to see the people in the room
• Identify various situations seen during scans
• Heated conversations (to be avoided)
• Wall flowers, standing alone (approach-worthy)
• Food? (a hot bed of activity)
• Other situations? Are any advantageous for
  starting conversation?

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A Formula For Meeting People

• 2. Make the Approach
• Identify an ideal situation and approach from the
  front
• Dont sneak up on people or frighten them
• Give a small wave if you have been introduced
  before
• If with someone, have them break the ice by
  approaching people they know

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A Formula For Meeting People

• 3. Greet People
• People want to know with whom they are speaking
• Introduce yourself
• Shake hands
• Say hello if you have only briefly met and add a
  secondary greeting
• If you have met before, It is good to see you
  again.
• If you have just met, It is a pleasure to meet
  you.
• Never interrupt a conversation
• Wait for a natural pause, and then extend your
  greetings

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A Formula For Meeting People

• 4. The Conversation
• First, be funny
• Be appropriate
• Share a funny story that happened to you
• Tell a short joke or share a fun saying
• It should fit into the context of the
  conversation and setting
• Ask open ended questions
• Questions allow people to create their own
  conversations
• The conversation will grow as people add
  information about themselves and experiences

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A Formula For Meeting People

• Make the others involved feel comfortable
• Allow people to bring their flavor to the
  conversation
• Permit topics to come and go as people feel
  comfortable
• Let others open topics of interest to them
• Be aware of invading others personal space
• Use proven conversation starters
• Select ones that are appropriate for your
  audience
• Use them to steer the conversation in a way where
  more are apt to participate

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A Formula For Meeting People

• 5. The Exit
• Leave by making people feel relaxed and easy
  going, not uptight or upset
• Excuse yourself to
• Attend to some business
• Get something to eat
• Exit when necessary or when the conversation
  turns in a direction that makes you feel
  uncomfortable

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Developing Conversation Starters

• These may change depending on the situation
• Multiple lists may be necessary (for different
  audiences)
• Starters with Younger Members
• How long have you been in 4-H?
• Tell me about the projects that you take.
• Tell me about your 4-H club(s).
• Tell me about your school.
• What kinds of things do you enjoy when youre not
  doing 4-H?

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Developing Conversation Starters

• Starters with Peers
• Tell me about the activities you do in 4-H.
• What classes do you take in school?
• Tell me about your county fair/round-up/etc.
• What is your county 4-H program like?
• What do you plan to do when school is out?

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Developing Conversation Starters

• Starters with Adults
• Tell me about your job.
• What got you involved in the 4-H program? How
  long have you been involved?
• What brought you to this event?

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Reflection Questions

• Think about meeting new people
• What makes you nervous about starting
  conversations?
• What is exciting about starting conversations?
• What is the formula used to meet people?
• How can you implement the formula in your
  particular situation?
• Which steps of the formula might present the most
  challenge for you?
• Which steps of the formula might be the easiest?

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Reflection Questions

• How can you develop conversation starters that
  are appropriate for your situation?
• What might be some starters that you can use?

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References

• Peter Murphy. (2006). howtotalkwithconfidence.com.
  Received via email communication on July 13,
  2006.