Until someone is a friend, they are a stranger. And strangers can be daunting. When we were young, we were taught never to talk to strangers. They were bad. Dangerous, even. But in the world of entrepreneurship, strangers could be clients, partners and mentors. They could be sources of new ideas and huge business growth. We have to get good at talking to new people.
If making approaches isn’t your thing, get some tips from ChatGPT with these five prompts. Copy, paste and edit the square brackets in ChatGPT, and keep the same chat window open so the context carries through.
Confidently meet new people and make a great first impression
Say hi first
Here’s the thing. No one remembers who said hi first. Think about all your best friends and favourite business buddies; you probably don’t remember your opening line, just like you don’t remember theirs. Once the opener has been delivered, the ice has been broken and you’re free to build rapport. Getting over that initial hurdle involves nothing more than saying hi.
“I want to get better at meeting new people. It starts by greeting them with confidence. Whenever I think about saying hi first, I stop myself because [reasons why you might not say hi to a new person]. Can you give me some tactics for confidently delivering the first word?”
Remember their name
Subconsciously, people love hearing their own name. When you remember someone else’s, they feel a sense of affinity towards you. They know that they mean something to you. The first time you meet someone is the perfect opportunity to get their name. Not only is it an easy question, but remembering the answer will serve you well going forward. Get ChatGPT’s help with ways to remember it, then use it deliberately for the rest of your chat.
“I want to get better at remembering someone’s name the first time we meet, so I can use it in our conversation and remember it when I see them again. Provide me with some tactics for better remembering the name of every new person I meet.”
Practice your pitch
If you’re feeling unconfident about meeting new people, you might be afraid of what they might ask, and how your response will go down. Prepare for this in advance by practicing your pitch. When you’re inevitably asked the question, “What do you do?” have your compelling answer ready to go. Get critique from ChatGPT to keep improving what you say.
“Let’s role play an initial meeting so I can practice my pitch. You will play an attendee at a business event, who I have never met. We met by the coffee machine and you said hi. Continue the conversation asking about me and my business and why I’m at the event. At the end of five back and forth exchanges, stop the roleplay and provide an assessment of my responses and suggestions for improvement, to make a better impression with the new person I just met.”
Don’t be lost for words
Being lost for words is a common fear up there with public speaking, snakes and spiders. No one wants their mind to go blank, feeling their heart racing and palms sweating as they scramble to find something good to say. Never have this problem again with this simple ChatGPT prompt. Keep a bank of good lines up your sleeve to deploy whenever necessary.
“Sometimes when meeting new people my mind goes blank and I can’t think of the next thing to say. The next time I am likely to meet a new person is [describe the location and reason]. If the conversation has a pause, what are some ways I can restart it in a natural way?”
Plan your exit
Now you’re into a conversation and it’s flowing as planned, you might be wondering how it stops. At some point, you’ll want to meet other people. You’ll want to broaden your meeting horizons and see what else might cross your path. Just as starting conversations is an art, so is leaving them. Get good at politely ducking out while leaving the best impression.
“I’m going to an event [describe the nature and duration of the event] attended by [describe the type of attendees]. If I get stuck in a conversation that I want to get out of, how can I do it politely and effectively? The location will be [describe where the event will be held].”
Meet new people with confidence
Get good at saying hi first and introducing yourself. Once you hear the other person’s name, tattoo it on your brain and use it every time. Practice your pitch so you’re not afraid of questions, find new conversation starters so you don’t fear silences, and plan how to swiftly leave without giving the wrong impression.
Meeting new people can be your jam with these 5 simple prompts. Get ChatGPT’s help to show up more often as the most confident and outgoing version of you.
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