QueenOfConversation.com

by Tracey E. Bennett, Queen of Conversation How do you build confidence and meet people? Volunteer. You get to schmooze with people you wouldn’t otherwise meet. I was a speaker host at the Hawaii Writers Conference. One evening the authors were doing a mass book signing.

Picture them at tables on the lanai of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, overlooking Diamond Head and the ocean.

What was missing in this scenic view?

Something to drink.

I appointed myself the wine fairy, got scripts from the conference host, and delivered wine to each author. In between signings, I chatted with Kristin Hannah (21 books – I loved Firefly Lane) and Jacquelyn Mitchard (author of The Deep End of the Ocean, Oprah’s first book-club pick).

Of course, if I’d paid the full conference fee, I could have visited with them, too. But when you volunteer, you get in for free.

Here’s another example:
The previous year, I helped organize author Steve Berry’s book signing and enjoyed a long visit with his lovely wife. The ice breaker "how did you meet?" brought out a great blind date story. The conversation question "do you go with Steve when he travels for research?" gave me insights about his writing process, always an interesting topic for a writer.

An excellent tip to build confidence
Register people at the door. This is a great job because you get to put faces with names and have a brief connection. When registration’s over, you have a clear idea of people you’d like to get to know better. (Read about my morning greeting women who were considering running for office: "50 First Impressions in the 50th State." )

If being on the front lines, so to speak, scares you, then go backstage. While stuffing envelopes and trading stories, you get to know people in the organization. 

Feeling depressed?
Volunteer. You feel needed. Volunteering gives you a purpose, a reason to be there. Instead of walking in the door and not knowing a cotton-pickin’ soul, you belong. Help somebody else or a cause greater than yourself and you’ll feel better about yourself. It will do you as much good as a roomful of therapists’ couches. That’s a promise.

 

==================================

Thanks for reading my blog.
-  Tracey E. Bennett, Queen of Conversation

 

This entry was posted on Monday, September 14th, 2009 at 1:11 pm and is filed under Build Your Confidence, Conversation Questions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.