The creator of Penny Stones is in the Top Ten in the 2009 StartupNation Leading Moms in Business
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A great site for moms in the Columbus, Ohio area, Kids Eat Out, just reviewed Penny Stones as a Fab Find:
Here’s an excerpt:
So you need a fun, reasonably priced, unique “______” gift. (hostess, housewarming, baby shower, birthday, teacher, you-name-it!)Well, look no further than Penny Stones.
And they’re giving two sets of Penny Stones away, Original and Slumber Editions. Enter today!
Penny Stones were just selected for Sweet Sixteen and Quince party ideas:
Sweet Sixteen and Quince Party Ideas
And we made the TV spot too! Penny Stones are recommended for table decorations to get the conversations flowing.
Last month, I had the pleasure of attending the Phi Mu National Convention in Phoenix, AZ. It was an impressive event with even more impressive women! I had a fantastic time. I was asked to give a workshop on conversation skills and I have to say it went even better than I had hoped.
Phi Mu Foundation Luncheon
During lunch, each of the 550 attendees received a Penny Stone and we used them in the workshop I gave afterwards. The highlight for me was when I asked the ladies to ask their partner a typical icebreaker: “Where are you from? What’s your major? or How are you?” The room felt flat. Then I asked them to ask their partner a Penny Stones question. The room lit up! There was laughter, animation, and they didn’t want to stop talking. One of the ladies turned to me a said, “These things really work!”
I stumbled across this fun idea at www.group-games.com: http://www.group-games.com/ice-breakers/mm-game.html
Ages: All. Recommend number of people: Groups of 3-12. Messiness factor: No sweat. Materials required: A large bag of M&Ms or any candy with multiple colors (e.g. Skittles).
M&M Game
This icebreaker is a simple way to help people introduce facts about themselves. It’s very flexible and adaptable – and (if you have a sweet tooth) delicious too! The M&Ms Game goes by other names: the Skittles Game, the Candy Game, the Color Game, among other names.
Setup
Pour M&Ms or any other multicolor candy into a bowl. Have everyone in the group grab as much or as little as they like from the bowl. Make sure that no one eats their candy right away.
How to Play
For each piece of M&M candy they took, they will have to answer a question, depending on its color. For example, you can designate:
You can be creative and choose any questions you think would be fitting for your group. The facilitator will then call out the color topic and everyone will go around the room sharing 1 answer per M&M. As an example: if you chose two red pieces of candy, you will have to name two of your favorite hobbies. After the individual has shared that color with the group, he/she may then eat their candy. Continue to go around the room until each color topic has been shared.
When starting a new conversation, which is the best question to ask?
The answer is 4 – none of these questions are great openers.
“What do you do for a living?”: Unless you’re at a work function or event like this, try to avoid career talk. Consider the possible outcomes: their occupation may be of no interest to you, or in this economy, they could be out of work. Ultimately, it’s better to try to talk about something that you are truly interested in.
“What’s new?” or “How are you?”: Too open-ended, you’ll get equally boring answers like “Nothing” or “fine”
“Are you a Browns fan?”: A yes or no answer is not a great opener, and only a die-hard fan would admit to being a Browns fan these days.
The best kinds of questions to ask are open-ended: start your question with Why, How or In what way…
Closed-ended questions ask for one- or two-word answers. Try to avoid: Are, Do, Who, When, Where, Which, Have you… ?
Here are some stock questions to keep on hand:
“What person would you most like to meet?” (pause) “Why?”
You can also introduce a topic with “My friends and I were just talking about…” and add what you’d like to talk about:
* Favorite place to visit
* What you’d love to try
* Your dream job
* Favorite childhood show, game or gift
* Favorite summer memory
Stock questions above are from Penny Stones - great ice breakers on glass stones.
Here are some rules to go by when mingling:
Nonverbal communication makes up over 50% of a person’s message, so it’s good to be aware of what your face is saying (even if it’s not what you mean):
Open face (makes positive impression) – makes eye contact, gives feedback, shows curiosity and raises eyebrows to show interest
Closed face (makes negative impression) – frowns, purses the lips, avoids eye contact
Coughing or sticking the tip of your tongue out through closed lips or both mean you disagree or don’t like what you’re hearing. If someone is doing these while your’e talking, you may want to change the subject.
If you’re like most people, the thought of entering a room full of people you don’t know and mingling with them is not comforting. Most people get a least a little nervous when they meet someone new. Here are three things to keep in mind the next time you’re meeting new people:
When you take this information and keep in mind that it’s not what you say, but the fact that you say something (blog: Starting a Conversation: Just Say Something), there’s no reason not to strike up your next conversation.