This last week in Sydney saw me out almost every evening at industry events and friends’ parties, allowing me to indulge in one of my favourite activities – meeting and getting to know people.
I’m endlessly fascinated by other humans, so I love speaking to people I meet about whatever it is that they’re passionate about.
Get interested!
A mantra that I have always tried to keep front of mind when it comes to meeting people, is that there is really no such thing as a boring subject, only disinterested people. Just this last week I have learned SO much from the incredible people with whom I’ve spoken, and all it took was me indulging my genuinely endless curiosity about the amazing lives people lead.
That was the week that was
Last week I loved talking to @dekrazee1 about community management, to @servantofchaos about CEOs and the way they communicate with their stakeholders, to @rantalot and @nickgonios about local sporting communities, to @maymaym about the negotiation of our identity in online environments, to George about wheelchair rugby and to Heipham about fashion, travel and architectural photography.
The conversations I shared at Friday morning coffee with @planart and Pascal about their sporting passions have energised me about the great work I am convinced the Sports Hydrant will be able to do in the future. And talking to @eskimo_sparky and @oliverw at Web-Blast on Friday was, as always, an absolute pleasure. @brentoe and I shared our love of cricket again and @lstoll couldn’t hide his appreciation for my ‘man-fro’.
Get passionate!
All of this rather wanton namedropping isn’t meant to paint a picture of me as a social butterfly. In fact, what it demonstrates is that there are an incredible number of fascinating people out there just waiting for YOU to engage them in impassioned conversation.
When you take the time to engage someone on a subject about which they are passionate, you get to share their passion for the subject and you learn a tremendous amount in the process. An added bonus is that the person you engage gets to indulge their passion, something they invariably love.
A challenge
Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to get out there and take an interest in somebody else’s passion. Engage a co-worker or a friend or someone you just met in a conversation about whatever it is they are passionate about, and come back and tell your story in the comments below.
What subject did you learn about? What did you learn about the other person? What did you learn about yourself?
Go on, try it.
I dare you :-)
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[Lady talking to boy Image courtesy Creative Commons and Flickr user Ed Yourdon] |
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[Web-Blast shenanigans courtesy Creative Commons and Flickr user Halans] |
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[Hearts graphic courtesy Creative Commons and Flickr user Reiver] |
