We usually start with introductions. They’re usually awkward. Something comes out that sounds dumb. We look at one another uncomfortably, wishing this could either end or start again.
So because I hate those awkward moments, I sometimes like to ask the people I’m meeting for the first time to tell me ten things you’d like me to know about you.
It usually stumps people initially. They lock their jaw shut and look into the middle distance.
This is exactly the moment not to interrupt their train of thought – they need to be able to focus in on the answer.
In their initial panic, they think they haven’t got anything to say. But stick with it because they will come up with one thing.
And when they’ve done that, they’ll come up with a second thing. Then a third. And before you know where, what, or why, they’ve come up with ten.
Try it. If time is of the essence – say one of you (genuinely) needs to go to the toilet or catch a bus – just ask for three instead.
Here’s my ten.
- I work as an executive, management and life coach
- I’m also a digital content producer
- I used to run an orchestra and once worked in a margarine factory
- I’ve also worked in radio and television
- Classical music has been a lifelong friend
- The right typeface or font is a necessity, not a luxury
- Travel as slowly as you can – it’s much better that way
- There’s no ‘h’ in my first name; no ‘s’ in my surname either
- People describe me as a maverick
- My dream is to have an office at the bottom of my garden
