'Who Are You? What's Your Headline?'
This 'smart introduction' can get conversation off to a strong start and produce more insights
Getting to know someone is made easier by questions that open up opportunities for people to tell you more important and interesting things about themselves.
"Who are you? What’s your ‘Headline’?" are two of those types of questions.
“I have taken this approach countless times — and continue to do so — as a communications executive working closely with leaders and their teams,” says an Emmy Award-winning journalist, Ann Keil Dux, a chief communications officer at NewStar Media. “Why, you might ask? Because fostering open communication paves the way for authentic, meaningful and lasting connections.”
The specific words used in these queries inspire a certain-type of helpful response.
“This approach encourages individuals to do more than just share their name and title,” Keil Dux says. “Instead, it presents an open-ended question that invites them to reveal what they find most meaningful about themselves, including their passions and areas of expertise.”
The conversation can go different directions yet the quality of information is likely to be better, she’s discovered.
“The responses will vary depending on the context, but the individual posing the question now has the chance to receive informative and thoughtful insights,” Keil Dux says, which is why she adds, “I highly recommend adopting this technique not only for interviews but also for smart introductions and team-building icebreakers.”
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