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!
I’ve been keeping a little journal of quotes. Whenever one of our kids (one girl and two boys) gives us their version of the English language, I write it down so we can remember it. Here are some of my favorites:
“No comments from the popcorn gallery, please.” ~ 10-year old daughter
“You wanna piece of me?” ~ five-year old son as he’s playing a video game
“”I was really starving for my blanket last night.” ~ five-year old son
When our five-year old son was complimented for reading a hard word he said “Oh, I just rememberized it.”
“I’m just like a dinosaur oncologist! I have five books on dinosaurs!” ~ six-year old son
“What’s a time frame? I’ve never seen one before.” (thinking it’s like a picture frame…) ~ six-year old son
When asked how God made a woman, our six-year old son said “He pulled a ribbon out of his pocket.”
“I want to play ‘Corn in the Cobs’” (instead of Corn Hole) ~ six-year old son
“I’m full. Can I have some ice cream?” ~ six-year old son
“We only learn stuff so teachers have somethin’ to do.” ~10-year old daughter
Out to lunch with Papa, Mommy asked her sons to share their sundaes. The older brother replied, “You can have one bite of mine, but you can have as many as you want from my brother!”
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.
Listening has been noted by executives to be more important than any other talent, including technical competence, computer knowledge, administrative talent, and creativity.
While many people struggle to find the “perfect” opener, research has shown that what you say is relatively insignificant. The important thing is to say something instead of letting an opportunity pass you by. If the other person is interested, they’re likely to help you continue the conversation.
According to Alan Garner, author of Conversationally Speaking, there are really only three topics to choose from:
1. The situation
2. The other person
3. Yourself
And three ways to start:
1. Asking a question
2. Giving an opinion
3. Stating a fact
Asking a question gets the other person involved, so that’s the best option. Find something to say that you will both be interested in, either about the situation or them. People like to talk about themselves and will be pleased to respond to your questions or comments. So when in doubt, ask an ordinary question about the other person. Once you start talking, you’ll find common interests and get the conversation going.
So the next time you see someone you’d like to meet, strike up a conversation. And don’t worry too much about what you say. Remember that the act of saying something is more important than the words themselves.