Random musings: How to Better Answer the 3 Questions You Always Get Asked When Meeting Someone New

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

How to Better Answer the 3 Questions You Always Get Asked When Meeting Someone New

This post is based on an article from The Art of Manliness and even though it's used in the context of meeting someone socially, it can also apply when you're meeting someone at a networking event.

Almost every time you meet someone new, there are three questions you will probably have to answer during your conversation:

What’s your name?

What do you do?

Where are you from?

These three questions are so common, and you answer them so frequently, that it is very easy to get in the habit of answering them the same way, again and again, without thinking. You probably get bored with your own answers, so you don’t put energy and effort into offering them in an interesting way. “Hi, I’m Joe. I work in public relations for an energy company downtown, and I’m from the Midwest but moved here a couple years ago.” Zzzzz…

You might even feel like Bill Murray’s character in Groundhog Day – going through the exact same routine time in and time out. It may even contribute to why so many of us dread meeting new people.

Yet it’s worth upping your game in this area; how you respond to these three common introductory questions can greatly impact your first impression, how memorable you are to a new acquaintance, and whether your relationship ever gets past first base, so to speak.

In this post I will outline 6 specific strategies for answering these almost inescapable questions in ways that are distinct and memorable. I will also share advice from experts in communications, linguistics, and networking about how you can stand out from the pack.

He then goes on to talk about 6 Ways to Make Your Answers More Memorable, which are:

Repeat Your Answer.
Ask a Question.
Tell a Story.
Be Clear and Avoid Trying to Be Overly Clever.
Create a Personal Association.
Find Your Inner Black Sheep

This list is then followed by several examples of how you can make your answers more memorable. Take a few minutes to check it out and you may find yourself looking for more people to introduce yourself to!