This article will discuss how to have a funny face when meeting someone new. Be instantly memorable with new connections and stand out as your own. This is the story.
The story
Last summer I surveyed my Idea Lemon audience with the following questions,
What do you usually suggest when you are asked to meet someone for the first time (be it a professional connection, a friendly encounter or even a date)?
– Let’s have coffee
– Let’s have a drink
-Other (lunch, tea, let the person choose)
The poll found that coffee returned 49%, followed by 27% alcoholics, and after reading “other” responses, everyone said they would go to lunch or have tea (instead of coffee), or allow the person to choose a drink or coffee to go with them.
I personally, I sing a beer for professional networking and I try to choose an evening drink when the schedule allows. But when it doesn’t, I default to a day’s coffee (even though I don’t drink coffee).
I now tell you a story of a woman named Gina Cohen, who changed my mind about the introductory meeting. I was afraid to get funny faces for doing something weird during an introductory meeting.
Gina K.
Gina is an entrepreneur and fitness trainer, her company is Sweet Life.
I first came across a sweaty life when I joined their monthly one Is sweating The Chicago incident. It was a really fun time. Every month they choose a different type of exercise and studio, you pay $ 15 to reserve your spot, you meet people, get a valid goodie bag from their partner sponsors and get a lot of sweat.
This special hour was 30 minutes of high intensity interval training (HIIT for short), then divided into 30 minutes of yoga. This is probably the first time I’ve done HIIT in a formal structure and it was one of the best workouts of my life.
Gina and I said hi to each other during that workout session and it was. Oh, and I won the raffle to attend the next SweatWorking event, so there was a 10-second exchange where I gave him my email address.
A few days later I received Gina’s email newsletter (because I was added to her email list when I joined the event). It’s a story about what he learned from leaving his job and moving to Sweet Life. This is a really good read, and I decided I would like to meet and network with her to see how we can support each other’s business.
Gina meeting method to not get funny face
At my request, I defaulted to the standard “Let’s have coffee”.
Here’s how Gina reacted:
I was free to attend so I said absolutely, and I went and took her class.
It’s one of the hardest, sweatiest, most endorphin-producing workouts I’ve ever endured in my life.
Let me bring it back to the original survey question. According to the results, everyone recommends coffee, drinks or lunch.
Now compare it to Gina, who now shuts down who she calls Gina meeting method.
While squatting on the medicine ball, I thought to myself,
“This is incredible. I will never forget it.”
See, there are plenty of fitness instructors out there. But Gina is now the one who burns in the memory because she is the trainer who, Instead of just grabbing coffee, let me take her class and cover my ass.
After class we had a great conversation for 20 minutes which resulted in, within a week:
- I’m writing a story about her on the Idea Lemon blog (completely my choice – she didn’t ask me).
- I mentioned people checking out a sweaty life. You should too.
- I am referring to Chicago Ideas Week, a prominent media outlet in Chicago, to write a feature post on it.
- He and a member of his team are involved in a product that we have beta tested for Idea Lemon.
Breaking the adultery meeting procedure
Let’s break it down Gina meeting methodBecause here are some things in the game. Here is her email again:
Gina has done three things in this note:
- He combines interests. Instead of finding new time to meet me, she works on what she is already doing.
- He obstructs entry. Asks me to take her class, if I tell her she will know immediately “No, it’s not for me.”, That I am probably not someone who is worth his time anyway. He cuts through the bullshit and makes sure that She is only allowing high quality interactions in her life, because she knows her time is valuable.
- He offers something different, which ends Makes him immediately memorable, and different from the rest. You know what better way than this awkward first few minutes, when you meet someone for coffee and talk professionally, “So, where are you from?”? Starting a conversation with, “Man – it was a great sweat. Can you tell me how you started a sweaty life?”
It will not take a fitness class. Think about the things you’re interested in and how you can come together, create that barrier to access only to allow for high quality interactions and be instantly memorable.
I have been using this method since I met Gina, asking those who want to meet to take yoga classes with me or come to the workshop I teach, and it builds a good relationship.
When the chips are down, and everyone is doing the same old bad thing, what can you do to stand out from the rest?
You could just be another trainer / lawyer / designer / entrepreneur / marketer, or you could be someone who will always be remembered because you did something different on your first date.
To avoid a funny face on your first date next time, try the Gina meeting method.
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