The Great Key to Making a Good First Impression

Many people think that whenever they meet someone new, they have to put on a false front, or pretend to be someone they’re not. Actually, being your real self will work better if you really want to connect with other people.

One of the most common reasons that people have difficulty making conversation with someone they don’t know very well is because they put too much pressure on themselves to put on a great performance.

Because of this sense of pressure, they try too hard to be impressive, to talk a lot, and to brag about their accomplishments. They won’t spend any time listening to and getting to know the person they are with.

Instead of impressing the other person however, this kind of self centered behavior is likely to irritate and annoy them.

Here’s a very important lesson to learn about making conversation with new people: Insisting to yourself that you have to be brilliant and dazzling in all your conversations will not win you new friends. It will not even improve your conversational performance.

When you think to yourself that you have to perform perfectly in all your conversations, and put up a false front, you will actually make your performance worse! You will become too nervous and awkward, and you’ll be too focused on your own performance. You won’t be focused on getting to know the new person you’ve just met.

New people that you meet are not looking for brilliant conversation. What they are looking for is someone who will be comfortable to be with, and fun to talk to. But most of all they are looking for someone who seems interested in them!

If you really want to impress the person you are meeting, it’s more important to be a good listener than to be a great talker.

If you want to know that person better, you can start by exchanging a few low key pleasantries, but you should move on quickly to a slightly more personal level of discussion. Ask a few basic questions and offer a little bit of information about yourself, your likes or dislikes, or your opinion on some neutral topic. Notice whether the other person lights up with interest about any topics you mention.

This can give you new interesting areas for both of you to discuss. Try to find out who they are, and what is interesting to them.

Even if it seems somewhat difficult and awkward for you in the beginning, develop the habit of introducing yourself to others as soon as you meet them, or very early in the conversation. Otherwise you could spend hours talking and neither of you will have any idea of what your conversation partner’s name is.

Socially confident people introduce themselves to their conversation partners very early in the course of conversation. People who are shy or socially awkward tend to introduce themselves much later, or not at all. Shy people often wait until someone asks for their name, but they rarely volunteer to give it, and they rarely ask the other person for their name.

Sometimes it is easier to ask the other person for their name first, and then offer your own. If you practice the new behavior enough times, it will eventually become second nature to you. With enough practice, it will no longer seem intimidating to take a more active role.

The important thing is simply to develop the habit of starting simple little conversations with lots more people. Look for the interests you have in common.

So remember: Show interest in other people. Smile. Listen. Look at the person you’re talking with.

Whenever you start talking to new people, don’t strive for great dialogue, or the perfect opening lines. Just get started, and keep on talking. Focus more on finding out what is interesting about the other person than on talking about what is interesting about you.

Let other people get to know the real you, instead of a fake you. Source http://www.relationshipsarticlelibrary.com
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Barbecue Tips and Trends

This is three handy tips for backyard chefs this season, courtesy someone who should know, Linda Lee, manager of Windsor's popular Patio Palace.

- Inspect. Clean up the barbecue, not just the obvious fixtures but check for spiders and and insect nests in the venturi tubes, the tubes that extend from the burner to the control valves. "Make sure the flame is blue, not yellow. If you see yellow, get it cleaned," Lee cautions, pointing to serious fires that have occurred. She says the siding of one house was destroyed because of a fire from the barbecue.

- Read labels. When buying a new barbecue, check whether it's North American-made. If not, parts and service may be hard to come by, Lee emphasizes. At least, find out whether parts and service are available from the retailer for the brands on display. Brands like Broil King based in Waterloo, Napoleon from Barrie and Weber in the United States provide support, including parts and service.

- Know your needs. Barbecues can cost $300 to more than $1,000 and come with a variety of features. "Know what's best for you," Lee advises, when it comes to choosing between models. She's seeing more models that are more affordable. They may have fewer features than higher-end, luxury barbecues but may still be a good value.

Accessories remain popular as a trend, with items like rib racks to provide more grill space and keep bones from burning, pizza stones for wood-fired grilling, and grill brushes that can be filled with water to hasten cleaning.

Such toys for the grill actually have a practical purpose, Lee maintains. They make the barbecue appliance more useful, providing more possibilities for cooking.
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