Tag: connecting

23
Oct
2016

10 Best Practices For Connecting Through Email

Welcome to Day 19 of 31 Days of Connection (and sorry for the delay)! If you have missed any posts, stop by Day 1 for links to each post that has been published.

Connecting Through Email

We talked about the importance of connecting using phone calls and handwritten cards, which are wonderful ways to connect, but it is impractical to do all of our connecting and communicating in those ways. Much of our connecting will happen through email. What’s so great about email? Almost everybody has an email address (even my 86-year old dad uses email!); it’s free; you can connect with people you know and people you don’t know; you can use it personally and professionally; and the communication is instant or almost. You can email somebody on the other side of the world and they will be able to read your message and respond right away – an amazing way to communicate and connect in our busy world.

I have seen enough email over the years to have learned some best practices. Some of these tips may seem obvious to you and if they do, then you are doing a great job! But there are definitely some of us who could use a few tips or reminders to improve our emails in order to do a better job of connecting. You should put the same care and effort into creating and sending an email that you would put into creating and sending a handwritten letter. Follow some of these best practices and see if you get better responses, results, and reactions to your emails.

connecting

10 Email Best Practices

1 – Make it personal. Don’t just start off the email with “hey” (save that for your immediate family), but use the person’s first name in your greeting. Include some information within the email that is specific to who you’re sending it to so it doesn’t sound like a cut and paste email sent out to several people (that may be the case, but it would be more effective to take time to slightly personalize each one).

2 – Start with a positive. Whether your email is for personal or professional purposes, it’s a good idea to start out with something positive. It could be general about your own life, something that you’re complimenting the person on, a positive memory associated with that person, or even that you’re glad to have the opportunity to send them a message today. When you start out with a positive, you help the person want to continue reading your email as well as feel like they are connecting with you.

3 – Be careful what you say. Sending an email is not an excuse to say things that you wouldn’t say in person such as unkind words or gossip. If you wouldn’t be willing to say it to a person’s face, then in most cases you probably shouldn’t say it in an email. Remember that email is never as private as you think. Though you send it to a specific person or group, you have NO control after that with who copies that message, sends your email to somebody else, or even uses it against you in some public or legal way. Your words are in writing and are out there and somewhat permanent once you hit Send. Always read through your email and make sure you are comfortable with your words going out just the way you have said them.

4 – Make it easy to read. Keep email messages on point and somewhat brief, if possible. People have a tendency to skim through and may miss important parts if you get too wordy (an issue that I struggle with). Put double spacing between groups of sentences or short paragraphs. Long blocks of writing with no white space are very difficult to focus on and read. And use a reasonable font size (not teeny tiny) in black or darker grays. Always help make life easier for the reader!

5 – End with a question or call-to-action. This applies whether it’s a personal or professional email. Whatever is at the end of the email is the last thing on the mind of the reader. If it’s a friend, you might remind them of what you asked about earlier in the message, “So please let me know what night next week we can connect over coffee!” or if it’s professional, you want to include the point of your email, “Sign up now to receive your free ebook – click below.” You get the idea – it’s a reminder of why you emailed in the first place, like a conclusion in an essay.

6 – Use proper grammar and punctuation. This doesn’t mean you can’t use slang and skip worrying about exact grammar rules when it’s appropriate. It does mean that you shouldn’t treat email like texting – all lower case and no punctuation. Email represents you and when you don’t bother with capitalization, punctuation, or making sure sentences make sense, it implies that you don’t care enough about the person you’re emailing to spend an extra minute or two on your message.

connecting

7 – Proofread and double check. At the most basic, you should spell check your message. But you should also read it through carefully before sending. Make sure you haven’t left out words or made the meaning of a sentence unclear. Double check who you are sending it to and who you are copying. It only takes a few seconds to a minute to check these things before your email goes out and can never be fixed!

8 – Sign it. When we send emails from work, we often have an automatic email signature with contact info, which is great. But if you are sending out a personal message, don’t forget to sign it at the end so it’s clear who it’s from. Sometimes our email addresses don’t contain our actual names and people may not realize right away that it’s you if you don’t include your name at the end.

9 – Use bcc (blind carbon copy) cautiously. There are times when bcc should be used. If you are sending out an email to a large group of people that don’t all know each other and may not want their email addresses publicly shared, you should bcc all of them so they don’t have access to that info, but address them as a group so they know you are sending to several people at once. But making it a habit of including a bcc when sending a more sensitive email because you don’t want the person receiving it to know that you are copying someone on that email can backfire if that person hits reply all. Now the original people that were sent the email will know that somebody else was copied but hidden for some reason. There are some good explanations out there of the dangers of using bcc – I recommend thinking about it carefully.

10 – Send at the best time. Okay, so what is the best time? It all depends on who you are sending the email to. You should try to send it at a time when the person will be checking email so that it pops up near the top of the list. For many people, that’s first thing in the morning. For some of us night owls, we might take more notice of an email coming through at 11pm. And for some, they only check personal emails when they have more time, like on the weekend. Keep in mind that people can see what time your email was sent out. If you are sending an email to clients, you may not want them to see that you sent it at midnight – better to save it in draft and send in the morning. If it’s a personal email, some people get notifications with sound on their phones so you may not want to send at a time that would be disruptive in some way.

Bonus Best Practice – Include a subject line that is specific. Don’t make your subject line “Miscellaneous” or “Hi” or “Read Now!” – include more info that explains the purpose of the email. If it really is just to say hi, then “Just Saying Hi!” might work. If it’s more complicated, try to be specific. And don’t bait and switch by saying something in the subject line to get me to read the email but then writing about something different – that leaves me with a bad impression and I will be far less likely to react well to the email.

Day 19 Daily Connection Challenge:
Write and send at least 3 emails in the next 3 days, but check through your messages carefully, following all of the best practices. Find an old email that you sent and read through it to see what changes you would have made based on these best practices.

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Connect Over Coffee Giveaway!

Speaking of connecting through email…I would like the opportunity to connect more with you through email! The best way to do that is for you to sign up as one of my subscribers. You’ll receive my blog posts and in the near future, newsletters and any special offers.

From now through November 1, sign up using the giveaway widget below, and you’ll be entered in a random drawing for 1 $25 Starbucks or Peet’s Coffee (your choice) Gift Card (1 winner). You must be at least 18 years old and live in the U.S. to enter. The winner can use it to invite a friend or family member out for coffee and a chance for connecting or reconnecting and improving a relationship. Connect by email and then connect over coffee! Enter below!

From Lisa Marie Connect Over Coffee Giveaway

Thank you for joining me for Day 19 of 31 Days of Connection – glad to have you here! Do you follow these best practices for email? Do you know people who send you emails that might need to read these tips? Let me know in the comments! See you soon for a Day 20 post!

17
Oct
2016

10 Ways to Connect Through Employee Appreciation

categories: Connection, Learning

Welcome to Day 16 of 31 Days of Connection! To catch the posts you may have missed, click over to Day 1 for the links to each post in the series.

Connect Through Employee Appreciation

We have already discussed why it’s important to connect at work. This post takes it a step further and applies to anybody who holds a position in charge of other employees, though it can also be applied to the coworker relationship. Connecting with employees in the form of employee appreciation shows them that they are valued members of the team, which leads to better working relationships and job satisfaction. A lack of job satisfaction is one of the main reasons that an employee will leave a job or start looking for new opportunities.

The more connected to you and the stronger the relationship an employee has with you, the less likely they are to look for another job. By showing employee appreciation, not only will you have loyal, hard-working employees, but with stronger relationships the work environment will be much more like a group of friends working together and sharing a common vision. And being happier at work means being happier at home as well. It’s win, win…win.

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10 Employee Appreciation Ideas

Some of the main ways of showing how much you appreciate an employee’s hard work are by offering a promotion or giving a raise. Many people do not actually have control over whether promotions and raises can be given out at a company, so I’m not including them in the 10 ideas.

I recommend taking a look at the 5 Languages of Appreciation at Work to help figure out which types of appreciation will be the best fit for your specific employees. Try using a mix of these 10 ideas to cover more than one of the languages of appreciation:

1 – Praise by Touch: When in the workplace, only appropriate touching is okay. This might mean using a fist bump, a high five, or a handshake to say congratulations for a job well done. Always pay attention when using these appropriate forms of touch. If you see any signs of it making an employee uncomfortable, make sure not to do it in the future or ask the employee if that’s okay with them to continue.

employee appreciation

2 – Tackle a Task: If you have the opportunity to perform a simple but annoying task for an employee so they don’t have to, do it and then let them know you took care of it for them. This could include things like sending a folllowup email, running an errand for the office, making a new batch of coffee, or some other specific work task that doesn’t require their skill or expertise. Be careful not to tackle a task that they really like doing or one that is a main part of their job, as this may lead to them feeling like you have a lack of confidence in their abilities.

3 – Public Praise: When an employee has a great new idea, or does an excellent job on a work assignment, or even when they have accomplished something significant outside of work, take the opportunity to praise them in a public way. This might be verbally in a team meeting or in front of another coworker or boss. This could also be done in an email that copies everybody on the team.

4 – Personal Praise: Take the time to write a personal email or a handwritten note to an employee. Express to them how much you appreciate how hard they have been working and praise them on some specific tasks they have handled. Try to make it motivating and encouraging. Keep the tone of the note professional.

5 – Opportunity to Lead: If the employee is doing well in a particular part of their job, or if you just want to challenge them to keep work interesting, assign either a new project or idea for them to be in charge of. Tell them why you are making them the lead as well as what your expectations are. And then let them run with it. Follow up and check in, offering assistance when necessary, but make sure you are allowing them to be in charge of some of the decisions.

6 – Treat to Lunch: Keep the lunch low-key and you can include more than one employee at a time. This could be a regular occurrence – maybe quarterly with different employees – as a thank you for hard work but also an opportunity to connect outside of the office. Use this opportunity to ask how they feel about the job, to get input and feedback, and to talk about what their goals might be. But also use this time as a way to connect personally by sharing about what things are happening in each other’s lives, even if they are more trivial/fun subjects like television shows and music, etc.

employee appreciation

7 – Company Perks: Offering perks to employees can be as inexpensive as you need it to be. Sometimes just sharing a simple perk to say thank you and keep up the good work is all that’s needed. This might be picking up Starbucks coffees on a chilly morning, giving a gift card to a favorite store or restaurant, giving movie passes, offering a discount for a local service or membership, or providing free coffee, tea, soda, etc. and/or snacks at the office. Note reactions to perks so you will get an idea of which ones are more appreciated by your group of employees.

8 – Acknowledging Events: Choose your favorite way to keep track, including setting reminders, of employee birthdays and work anniversaries. You could also acknowledge events as they occur, like weddings and births. If you don’t have the info already, email out a survey and make sure you get these dates from each employee. It’s crucial not to leave anyone out. Even if you are in an office that already celebrates birthdays and/or anniversaries in some way as a group, take the time to send a separate card, an ecard, or a personal email to tell that employee happy birthday or congratulations. It doesn’t have to be anything eloquent – simple is fine. The fact that you took the time and effort to remember these dates personally is what matters.

9 – Christmas Gifts: This may be tricky if you have employees that don’t celebrate Christmas, but even then, most do not mind if you celebrate by giving them all gifts! You may already do something as a group in your office. But do something personal for each of your employees for Christmas, no matter how small. Handmade goodies, gift cards, tickets to an event, or books are some great and simple gift ideas. The sacrifice of your time and a few of your dollars are the real gift.

employee appreciation

10 – Time Off: If your employees have worked extra hard on a project or gone above and beyond on their tasks or have even survived a busy season and are in danger of burnout, offer some unexpected time off. This is in addition to granting regular time off requests or holidays off. If you can spare them, tell them they can leave work a couple of hours early on a Friday to begin the weekend sooner or give them a half day off and let them choose when to take it, within a specified time range. This should be paid time off or it won’t really be showing much appreciation.

There are many more ways to show employee appreciation and work on connecting with the people who work for you or who you work with. How many of these have you already done?

Day 16 Daily Connection Challenge:
Find one or more ideas from the list of 10 Employee Appreciation Ideas and use them this week, for one or more employees. These can be people that work for you or coworkers and in a number of different settings like at the office, virtual, volunteer, co-ops, etc. Note the reaction of the employee and whether your relationship with that employee changes for the better.

Thank you for joining me for Day 16 of 31 Days of Connection! Have you experienced somebody showing employee appreciation to you in one or more of these ways? Did it make you feel more connected to that person? Let me know in the comments. See you here again for Day 17!

15
Oct
2016

Connecting at Work

categories: Connection, Learning

Welcome to Day 15 of 31 Days of Connection! Catch up on any posts you missed by clicking over to Day 1 where all posts in the series are linked as they are published.

Connecting at Work

We’ve talked a lot about connecting with family and friends, but now we’re going to start branching out more. Let’s talk about connecting at work. “Work” might mean a variety of things: volunteering, working from home, working outside the home, teaching a homeschool co-op, church ministry, writing/blogging and more. When we talk about people that you work with, that can mean any group of people that you regularly see (even virtually) in a more professional role, outside of your family and friends.

It’s possible that you can do your job and only develop acquaintance-level relationships with coworkers while never having any contact outside of the work environment. You could still do your job successfully and even be well-liked by your peers and your boss. But that doesn’t help you connect with and improve your relationship with people. By connecting at work, you show that you are invested in the vision of the company, you are a team player, and you are a valuable employee.

connecting

Even if you’re more of an introvert or uncomfortable with connecting with people you don’t know well, you can do this! Set yourself up for the right one-on-one opportunities to connect and plan ahead for interactions and conversations. Connecting at work will involve more than conversations; you have to be willing to really listen and to get past the surface and create an emotional connection. The more you connect with people at work, the stronger the relationships that are built, which leads to a happier workplace and loyal coworkers. It takes effort and practice, but it’s rewarding for you and for your team.

Day 15 Daily Connection Challenge:
Start with one coworker and have intentional conversations with them this week, trying to go past the usual “How was your weekend?” by asking more in-depth questions. Pay attention to their likes and dislikes and try to show that you have noticed as well as praise them for a job well-done or a professional trait that you admire. if you already have a decent relationship with a coworker, try bonding outside of the workplace with lunch or coffee or an online chat if you are only connected virtually.

Thank you for joining me for Day 15 of 31 Days of Connection! What has been the toughest daily challenge for you so far? Let me know in the comments. See you back here on Day 16!

15
Oct
2016

Connecting at Social Events

categories: Connection, Learning

Welcome to Day 14 of 31 Days of Connection! If you’ve missed any posts in the series, stop by Day 1 and you’ll find all the links listed there. And sign up by clicking here to receive the posts in your email inbox.

Connecting at Social Events

Social events are great for connecting with a group of people who already have something in common with you. This makes it easier to start connecting with new people or strengthening the connection with those you already know. But it means putting yourself out there and actually attending the social events.

We can focus here on somewhat smaller social events, but larger ones like charity benefits or weddings can be other opportunities to meet new people and see if you can create a new connection. Smaller social events might include a church outing, an outside-the-workplace team activity, a baby or bridal shower, a holiday party, or a family function. These social events might have a combination of people you know well, people you know only as acquaintances, and people that you don’t know at all. It’s the perfect time to maintain the connection with those you know well, strengthen the connection with your acquaintances, and start connecting with new people – all at once!

Sometimes our lives get busy and we stop attending social events. For the sake of relationship development, it’s important to make time to attend some. Yes, that’s right – attending a social event can be good for you! The more you practice going out and connecting with and relating to others, the more you improve the way you connect at home as well as how you connect with yourself. You’re also modeling to your family or children how to build and maintain relationships. While it is important to spend time at home and work on family relationships, it’s also important to not cut yourself off from social events away from home.

Day 14 Daily Connection Challenge:
Accept an invite to a social event coming up in the next month, especially if you were on the fence about going – let this be the push that gets you to accept that invite. If you haven’t been invited to one, research and find one to go to, or create one yourself and invite some people to join you.

Thank you for stopping to see me for Day 14 of 31 Days of Connection! Leave me a comment and tell me what your toughest daily challenge has been so far. See you back here for Day 15!

12
Oct
2016

Connecting Through Acts of Service and Kindness

categories: Connection, Learning

Welcome to Day 12 of 31 Days of Connection! Find links to all the posts in the series as they are published on the Day 1 post. Have you signed up to receive my posts by email? Click here now to do it!

Connecting Through Acts of Service and Kindness

Acts of service is considered one of the love languages that I mentioned in yesterday’s post. But we do acts of service and acts of kindness all the time for all sorts of different reasons, not just to express love and appreciation. Performing acts of service and kindness for people or with people is another great way to connect and strengthen a relationship.

Acts of service or kindness can be small or large. It might be small like taking somebody’s dishes to the kitchen or it might be larger like cooking a meal for a friend or even bigger like fixing a house or car. It’s going out of your way to do something nice for somebody else with no expectation of anything in return. It can be something that you do for one person or it can be something that you do along with others, for one person or a group of people. These are not random acts of kindness or service – those are great but do not help you build connection. These acts of service would be done for people that you are trying to develop or strengthen a relationship with.

When you perform an act of service or kindness for a person, the goal is to bless that person without expecting anything in return. Of course connection is a two-way street, but you will find that stronger connections and relationships happen with the right people naturally when you aren’t looking for reciprocation. And you’d be surprised how much it benefits you when you are only focused on how you can bless another person.

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Acts of Service Ideas

The best way to think of acts of service to do for family and friends is think about the things that they really dislike doing or never have enough time to get done, like doing the dishes, organizing a garage, cleaning up a yard, washing a car, getting the oil changed, cooking a meal, babysitting for free for an evening, etc. It can also be doing something when asked – it doesn’t have to be spontaneous or just your idea. Sometimes an act of service is about saying yes to a person’s need for help even when it is inconvenient for you.

Doing acts of service as a group is a great way to build connection. Not only do you bless the person you are helping, but you are building relationships with the people you are working with. This might be volunteering to build a home, cleaning up a neighborhood, cooking for an event, creating a website, etc. There are so many acts of service that a group of people can do and have fun while doing it!

Day 12 Daily Connection Challenge:
Perform 1-2 small and simple acts of service or kindness today for a friend or family member. Plan 2 bigger acts of service to do in the next week for somebody that you would like to improve your relationship with. Think of a group act of service that you could join in or help organize to bless somebody you know that has a need.

Thank you for joining me for Day 12 of 31 Days of Connection! Have a beautiful day and I’ll see you back here for Day 13!

10
Oct
2016

Connecting By Phone

categories: Connection, Learning

Welcome to Day 10 of 31 Days of Connection! Find links to all the posts on Day 1. And remember to click here to get the posts delivered right to your inbox!

Connecting By Phone

How do we connect with others when we’re not meeting up in person? These days using the phone has become almost obsolete. It’s so much easier for most of us to email, text, or use social media to message or contact somebody. I’m guilty of it myself and tend to make very few phone calls as they take up more time and there’s less control over the message (I might forget to mention something on a phone call or say it as clearly as I could in an email.). So why mention connecting by phone when we have so many other methods available? Using the phone involves the voice and that matters.

The voice is an amazing thing – we speak; we sing; we laugh; we cry out. We cannot convey in written form what we can with the voice. Voice communicates more than words can. It includes pitch, tone, and emotion. We recognize voices and even when we don’t know a person’s voice, we assign a voice to their writing. I had always read the posts from one of my blogging friends with a certain voice assigned in my head, as we had never met or spoken other than online. I was so surprised when I finally spoke to her on the phone and she had a lovely Southern accent! It changed the way I read her words from then on and it was so nice to be able to better understand her words in her actual voice.

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When we hear a voice over the phone, it’s familiar and makes us feel like that person is almost right there with us. That creates a stronger connection than just the written word. Sometimes talking on the phone is outside of our comfort zone and it keeps our world safe and happy by only texting or messaging. Some people feel more valued, loved, and comforted by hearing a friend or family member’s voice over the phone. It’s worth stepping out of our comfort zone once in a while to make somebody else feel important and to strengthen our connection.

Day 10 Daily Connection Challenge:
Call a friend or family member today instead of texting or messaging them! Within the next day or two, call somebody that you haven’t spoken to (other than in writing) in a long time and see how you feel after connecting by phone rather than by email or letter.

Thank you for joining me for Day 10 of 31 Days of Connection! Are you finding the daily challenges helpful? Let me know in the comments. See you back here for Day 11.

09
Oct
2016

Connecting With Friends

categories: Connection, Learning

Welcome to Day 9 of 31 Days of Connection! Stop by the first day of 31 Days of Connection to get links to the whole series as each post is published. Click here to sign up to receive the posts by email.

Connecting With Friends

We’ve talked about connecting with family, but connecting with friends is also very important. Friendship is a true blessing. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has experienced a season without friends or at least without nearby friends. It can be lonely and difficult. Having the kind of friends who are lifetime friends no matter how often you talk to each other is an amazing thing. But what takes somebody from acquaintance to friend and then from friend to lifetime friend? Connection and maintaining or growing that connection.

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Helping an acquaintance grow into a friendship requires connecting on some level. It could be getting together for a playdate, or breakfast, or through doing an activity together. The connection might happen digitally, over the phone, or even through handwritten correspondence. There are so many ways that friendships are developed. The connection usually occurs because of things you have in common and talking about life and really listening to each other. We might have 1 friend or 100 friends, but we have connected with them all in some way.

We may have friends that we see regularly and do things with, and then other friends that are those forever friends that have your back no matter what – the ones you call when life gets too hard to handle. The reason those friends have become so close is because of a deeper connection that has usually developed because you have talked about the real hard stuff of life or you have gone through a difficult experience together or you have grown up together and have so much in common that you are practically family. These friendships are lasting and true. Growing a friendship into this lifetime friendship only happens with that deeper connection.

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In order to keep friendships flourishing, we need to work on continuing to connect. A friendship can be like a flowering plant. The more attention and care you give it, the more it grows and flowers. If it’s neglected, the blooms die off and the growth is stunted, though the roots remain and stay strong. I am certainly guilty of neglecting friendships and allowing the growth to be stunted. Connecting with friends and growing our friendships means taking extra time and making the effort to get together and to talk, or sometimes just to listen. It’s a small sacrifice for a huge reward.

Day 9 Daily Connection Challenge:
If you have an acquaintance that you’d like to develop a friendship with, reach out today to connect through a Facebook friendship, a call, or an invite to an event or outing that you would enjoy together. If you have a friend that could turn into one of those special forever friends, take time today to write or call or schedule time to get together one-on-one to talk about life. And take a little time to nurture your existing friendships by connecting sometime in the next few days in a way that your friend(s) will appreciate.

Thank you for joining me on Day 9 of 31 Days of Connection! See you back here for Day 10. Have you had any light bulb moments from these connection posts? Have you stepped out of your comfort zone in any way to achieve a daily challenge? I would love to hear about it in the comments!

08
Oct
2016

Connecting With Family

categories: Connection, Learning

Welcome to Day 8 of 31 Days of Connection (we’re only a quarter of the way through)! Remember, stop by Day 1 to catch the links to all 31 days.

Connecting With Family

I know, you’re thinking, “Hello, Lisa – I’m around my family all day. Don’t you think I’m already connected enough?” Maybe. But maybe you could connect more, better, deeper. Of course you’re connected – you’re related and you love each other and there’s a connection between all of you that won’t ever go away. Have you been intentional about your connection with family members lately? I know that we tend to get comfortable and familiar and get to that point where we don’t really work at it anymore. But it takes constant effort if you want that deeper level of connection. And by developing that deeper connection at home, we’ll be better prepared to connect with those outside our family circle.

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Connect With Your Spouse

Connecting with our spouse should include connection through intimacy and touch, but we should also be making time to “date” each other. It’s important to have one-on-one time away from the distractions of children so you can talk about your dreams and goals for your family or work through issues together. It doesn’t have to be an expensive night out with a babysitter at home, though I recommend saving up and doing that at least once in a while. It can be time together at home after putting the kids to bed early – that might mean you have to stay up really late, but it’s worth it for some time alone together.

Connect With Your Children

Connecting with children happens all day long, but this is about taking extra, intentional time to connect with them one-on-one. Make it a priority to fit in or schedule time with each child without the other children. Maybe that’s a parent/child “date” or maybe it’s just time together in the child’s room. It’s certainly easier to achieve this with younger children as they usually love to cuddle and read stories together. It gets tougher as they get older and requires you to figure out what ways they prefer to connect. Is it playing a video game together and talking about what’s happening at school? Is it shopping together and laughing about your day? When you have teens, it’s harder still.

connecting

Connecting intentionally with a teen may mean perseverance on our end. Just because a teen seems outwardly not to care about connecting, don’t believe it. Teens want love and connection but won’t always give you the satisfaction of showing that they care. But if we give up, they will assume that we don’t care enough to keep trying. Don’t give up! Make a coffee date and talk about their day or hang out at the mall to people watch and share some of your wisdom at the same time. Keep things low key and no-pressure. Developing a deeper connection with your teen may take more effort now but it they will appreciate it as they get older.

Connect With Other Family Members

Connecting with other family members outside of your immediate family is important, too. Whether it’s grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, or in-laws, make time during each year to connect or reconnect with them. This probably won’t be able to happen as often but make that effort to rearrange your schedule once in a awhile to visit your other family members or attend a family function. Not only are we developing a better connection, we are also setting the example for your children on how to connect with family.

Make taking time to be intentional about connecting with family members a priority and you’ll see the benefits not only with your relationships with family, but with your own ability to connect with others. This will mean planning ahead. Being intentional means working to make it happen rather than waiting for the right moment to spontaneously occur.

Day 8 Daily Connection Challenge:
Schedule some intentional one-on-one time to connect with family members. Start today if possible. Plan ahead and schedule time with each one as well as commit to a family occasion or event coming up in the next month or so.

Thank you for joining me for Day 8 of 31 Days of Connection! Make life easy and click here to sign up to receive each post as it’s published – right to your inbox!

07
Oct
2016

Connecting Through Touch

categories: Connection, Learning

Welcome to Day 7 of 31 Days of Connection! If you miss any posts, stop by Day 1 for all the links to the 31 posts as they are published.

Connecting Through Touch

Touch is one of the ways that we communicate nonverbally and is another way that we connect with others. Think about the different ways that we touch people in our lives and how many different messages we send using touch. Holding hands with a loved one communicates closeness and trust. Shaking hands firmly with a coworker communicates confidence and assurance. Putting a hand on a friend’s back communicates helpfulness and togetherness.

Touch helps create a connection. If we go through the day and never touch anybody, we are missing out on another layer of connection with others. To work on improving that connection, try using touch throughout your day. Some of us naturally reach out and touch others all the time. But others will need to get past the uncomfortableness of touch. It takes practice and stepping out of your comfort zone. But in order to connect better, it’s worth stepping out. And there are so many ways to do that, depending on your relationship with the person: shaking hands, holding hands, a hand on a shoulder or the back, a hug, an arm around the waist, a fist bump, and more.

connecting

Day 7 Daily Connection Challenge:
Reach out and touch someone! It could be holding hands with a family member or touching the back of a friend or shaking the hand of a stranger. But make it something that you don’t normally do or with a person you don’t normally touch (unless you know it would make them feel uncomfortable).

Thank you for joining me for Day 7 of 31 Days of Connection! How are you doing with the challenges? Have you been able to keep up? Let me know in the comments! And make life easy for yourself – click here to sign up to receive the posts in your inbox as they’re published.