What Do You Do For Fun? - Grasshopper

It’s a great question to ask of someone to unearth their playful side.

Many years ago, I was invited to a meeting with a potential client and our radio station’s leading salesperson. I had never seen her work before, only heard about her successful track record.

 

After the brief introductions and some get acquainted conversation, she asked this of the client: “Bill, what do you do for fun?” I watched this gent’s facial features soften as he launched into recounting his favorite hobby: fly fishing.

 

The mood was now set and this woman lead him where she wanted him to go: hook, line, and sinker. She got the sale and I got an education.

 

I added that phrase to my communications kit that day and use it often to warm up an interaction with someone new.

 

My sense is that a lot of people stop playing when they become part of the adult world. What a pity. Their interactions become fact based and robotic and as far away from fun as you can imagine.

 

Taking someone back to their fun spot pays dividends. It removes the uber seriousness from a conversation and puts it on a more friendly footing.

 

One of the main things I learned from reading the works of Dale Carnegie is this: leave people in a better place than you found them and they will associate that feeling with you, allowing you a better opportunity for getting through.

 

So let me leave you with this: What do you do for fun?

 

All the best,