Put Yourself Out There

Last weekend my husband and I went to the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. The museum was not very crowded, so it wasn’t difficult to spot a man wearing a neon green T-shirt that read “Clayton Cross Country.” Since my mind had been on recruiting, and I figured he was a high school coach, I wanted to strike up a conversation with him. However, it took a few minutes – and the right moment in between viewing the art – for me to approach him.

“Where is Clayton?” I jumped right in. He seemed a little surprised that I was not familiar with the high school since it’s right in New Jersey, but we chatted for a few minutes and I gave him one of my business cards that I had created myself online. He was easy to talk to, friendly, and a high school cross country coach indeed! We discussed our teams, summer training, and our own personal running. We parted our ways and continued through to the other exhibits. We bumped into each other again on the second level, talked of triathlon and running some more, and then one more time at the gift shop, where I met his wife (who also runs).

I really enjoy meeting people, yet sometimes find it difficult to start a conversation with a complete stranger. But what’s the worst that can happen? In most situations, more than you expect can happen – in a good way! Whether this coach ever contacts me or not, I am glad to have had such a friendly conversation, I expanded my network by one person, and I took one step further to broadening my comfort zone.

Why don’t you give it a try?