Be a Thoughtful Connector
How can we connect others to build community?
We have to be unselfish and put others before us. At every opportunity we should introduce people to one another; it will strengthen and build upon our communities. We should invite folks to different settings and situations with different people, especially when someone is new to a community. Make folks feel wanted and loved as soon as we can. Search for and share similarities to make us feel connected to one another. Search for and share differences to make us learn and respect one another’s perspectives. We have to find joy in not being the center of attention and being unselfish.
Introduce your friends to one another and back out of conversations or ensure the focus is on your friends meeting rather than you connecting them to one another. They’re your friends, you can always touch base with both of them later; take the opportunity to broaden other people’s circles.
The great retailers out there tend to find opportunities to introduce you to other patrons, tell you about the city and their favorite stomping grounds, and do everything they can to make you feel connected.
At A Cup of Common Wealth
We introduce people to other people in line, we introduce people to other people that are in the shop, invite people to sit with one another. If someone comes into our home and someone else is there, they should know each other, feel welcomed, and know that we aren’t strangers. We’re all in this game of life together.
We try to ensure any newcomer meets a regular, understands our Pay It Forward concept, and if they are traveling we give them a list of great places to visit in town. We try our best to introduce people to other people and places and back away and let them experience the culture and the community of Lexington. We don’t have to be a part of every conversation, but we’re happy to start any conversation off to keep the community growing and evolving.
Our Pay It Forward model is an alternative way to connect. Customers are able to buy drinks for other customers ahead of time: Drinks bought by guests, for other guests. Sometimes this means someone buys a complete stranger a drink, other times a friend buys another friend a drink, and in just about every case something really amazing happens.
It has developed a unique way of connecting people. It grants people an opportunity to give back in a small way and allows people to be generous to one another, creating moments of connectivity.
We’ve met two young women named Storey; they “met” one another by buying Pay it Forwards for each other, and eventually orchestrated a friend date via the board. We know someone that keeps a revolving tab for police officers, but (s)he wants to remain anonymous. On several occasions (s)he has been standing right next to an officer as they have been redeeming one of their free drinks and (s)he never says a word.
The Pay It Forward board gives us the chance to say to one another: I see you; I am connected to you.
Thoughtfully connect.
Share your experience with the Spark the Leader community by visiting the Share Your Experience page for more detail. One submitter every month wins $25 to give to their favorite non-profit!
Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash
