Creating Strong Connections with Richard Lee-Thai
I absolutely loved the recent chat that I had with my friend Richard. Richard Lee-Thai is a TEDx Speaker & Mentor, Connection Coach, and co-author of the recently-published book: “Become Your Superself: Connect with Yourself to Connect with Others.” His TEDx talk: "How to Find Excuses to Connect” outlines how people can make meaningful connections easier. His ultimate vision is to create a world without loneliness. Connections can happen anywhere and anytime, so he encourages you to find that excuse to connect. Let’s dive in to what he has to say!
What are some of the skills that we need to make connections?
Mindset - Social skills are like a muscle that you can exercise and strengthen, like going to the gym. Some people might have the misconception that you're permanently socially awkward but that's not the case! It's a skill, like any other skill that if you practice it, you get better at it. It's developable.
Curiosity - Try being more interested in the other person and not so concerned about how you're presenting yourself. Simply be curious about the other person! Ask questions and try to learn more about their story. Be interested, not interesting.
Finding Common Ground - Find an excuse to connect. What is some way that you could start a conversation with this person? You don't have to lead the whole conversation. There are other fun ways out there that can simulate the same type of connection and getting to know each other.
Where are some places that we can practice connecting with people?
You can make genuine connections both online and in person. It's truly about the level of openness, vulnerability and trust that you're willing to build a relationship. Technology has opened so many doors for us to be connecting virtually. Some of the best relationships can be formed this way. In person is always a great option as well. There are plenty of opportunities all around us!
How can we start connecting?
A great tip is to use your five senses (hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting, or feeling) - all of these can be a start to a conversation of noting and observing something within your environment. Compliment someone on their t-shirt or ask about their coffee order. Genuine curiosity can get you great results!
“You never know how any connection can transform your life.”
Most importantly is this message: you must connect with yourself to connect with others. When we feel insecure about ourselves, that makes it difficult to connect with others on a genuine level. When we are worrying about what other people are thinking of us and craving external validation we won’t feel that inherent sense of self worth. Then we will seek someone else to fill in that void which leads to imbalanced relationships. However, once you're confident with yourself, people can sense it. You embody that sense of confidence that you know who you are and how you present yourself to the world. That is what will attract the right types of relationships.
Are you going to make new connections today? I encourage you to start new conversations!
You can connect with Richard here: https://excusestoconnect.com/
