Is there anybody here who thinks they are good at connecting people with shared interests? If so, how did you learn to be good at it? How would you advise others to build that skill?
I’m okay at it. Step 1 is to actually know things about the interests of people. To do that, you have to be reasonably good at one-on-one conversation: asking people open-ended questions, showing genuine interest in them, etc. That’s how you find out what they’re interested in in the first place.
Once you’ve done that, Step 2 is just to mention it to each of them when they are both present, especially when you’re introducing them. “This is X, they are a professional Y and also like to do Z in their spare time” works well if you already know the other person is interested in Y or Z.
I am +1 on Step 1 being most important and most difficult here.
I would also say I am just okay at it, because connecting with other introverted people is difficult for me and I won’t necessarily get far enough into conversation to find out about a lot of people’s interests unless they have may in common with me or there’s someone outgoing to carry the conversation. (There are many people more naturally inclined to be outgoing who could become amazing at connecting people if they realized that they have tons of this sort of knowledge that other people who are not like them don’t obtain.)
But deliberately putting yourself in positions where you’re going to learn a lot of things about people helps. Organizing groups, speaking about interesting topics, following everyone and their dog on social media, etc. And then being genuinely interested in them, enough that you remember things about them and they enjoy sharing things with you.
Is there anybody here who thinks they are good at connecting people with shared interests? If so, how did you learn to be good at it? How would you advise others to build that skill?
I’m okay at it. Step 1 is to actually know things about the interests of people. To do that, you have to be reasonably good at one-on-one conversation: asking people open-ended questions, showing genuine interest in them, etc. That’s how you find out what they’re interested in in the first place.
Once you’ve done that, Step 2 is just to mention it to each of them when they are both present, especially when you’re introducing them. “This is X, they are a professional Y and also like to do Z in their spare time” works well if you already know the other person is interested in Y or Z.
I am +1 on Step 1 being most important and most difficult here.
I would also say I am just okay at it, because connecting with other introverted people is difficult for me and I won’t necessarily get far enough into conversation to find out about a lot of people’s interests unless they have may in common with me or there’s someone outgoing to carry the conversation. (There are many people more naturally inclined to be outgoing who could become amazing at connecting people if they realized that they have tons of this sort of knowledge that other people who are not like them don’t obtain.)
But deliberately putting yourself in positions where you’re going to learn a lot of things about people helps. Organizing groups, speaking about interesting topics, following everyone and their dog on social media, etc. And then being genuinely interested in them, enough that you remember things about them and they enjoy sharing things with you.
Post a Facebook status saying “hey guys, tell me your interests and I’ll connect you if you share some.”