b'OSHA UpdateAttending Social Events? of How to Work a Room: The Ultimate Guide to Making Lasting Impressionsin Person and Online. Just because Get Comfortable! someone is standing alone doesn\'t mean he or she is a snob or "unimportant." People who are alone may be shyer than you. Perhaps she is hidden under the fake palm tree, Studies show that up to 93 percent ofclutching a drink in her hands. Chances are, she is repeating adults consider themselves shy. And thosethose three statements (lies) at the beginning of this article. studies were conducted even before weIf you go over and introduce yourself to her, you may have were encouraged to adopt the practice ofa new best friend for life! social distancing. 5.Pretend you are a talk show host. Treat the person across Is it any wonder then that when you nowfrom you as the most important guest of the evening. What go to a social gathering, you may feel questions (and answers) would your viewers or listeners uncomfortable?want to have discussed? As a good host, make theconversation be about the guest, and not about you. You may look around the room and think Ted Janusz (probably in error), Everybody here knows6.When the other person begins to talk, listen. I believe that each other! or I knew it was a bad idea toempathetic listening has three parts: 1) listen with your come here! or Everybody is looking at me!ears (obviously), but also 2) listen with your eyes, and 3) listen with your heart. Instead of planning your response, Relax. There is a good chance that most of the room is feeling justanxiously waiting for the other persons lips to stop moving as you are. so that you can talk, take the time to be present with the other person. To advance both personally and professionally, we need toengage with people. And sometimes we just need to getListenTruly Listen comfortable being uncomfortable. Best-selling author Stephen Covey asked, Do we listen to un-To lessen your anxiety, here are six things you can do:derstand? No! We listen to reply.1.Determine in advance your reasons for attending a socialLet me relate the concept of empathetic listening to something I event. If necessary, write out the reasons on the back of aexperienced recently. My wife took me into her garden to show business card and sneak a look at the card while you are atoff her phlox, mums or rhododendron. Im not really surethe event. You will find that you can do just about anything inbecause I am not into gardening. But I am into my relationship life if your why is strong enough. The real secret to successfulwith my wife. So rather than thinking at the time about an time management is to constantly ask oneself, Is this theupcoming presentation I was about to give, I needed to slow best use of my time right now? If so, go to the event anddown and be in the moment with her. make the best of it. If not, go do something else. Always take the time to truly be with the person with whom you 2.Plan what you will say when you meet another person atare speaking. Do not constantly scan the room for somebody the event. If you can make your opening statement even more important.interesting, or better yet humorous, the conversation can get off to a great start. For instance, at a wedding, one guest How to Make Others Love (or Like) You introduced herself by saying, Hello! I am a former girlfriend of the grooms father!English journalist Jenni Murray talked about meeting former president Bill Clinton, "He made you feel for those few short 3.Go with a friend. You may know people at the event yourmoments that you were the only woman in the world and he\'d friend is unfamiliar with, and vice versa. You can introducenever met anyone as interesting or as lovely as you."your friend to others and say things about your friend that he may socially be unable to say about himself. And he can doSimilarly, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis seemed to possess the the same for you! Speaker Patricia Fripp says, Its like beingability to have men all over the world fall in love with her. Asked with your own PR person. We say about each other thathow she did it, the former First Lady replied, Two ways.First of which we would not say about ourselves.all, when a man would finish talking about himself and his work, I would say, Tell me more! 4.Look for a person standing alone. The person, who is speak-ing to no one, would welcome your conversation, notes(I can only imagine the nervous guy thinking to himself at this Susan RoAne, The Mingling Maven, and best-selling author Page 14CONSTRUCTION JOURNAL'