Two Tips For Getting To Know Someone

Taking the time to get to know someone my be an intimidating process and nerve racking. If it is someone you would really like to know personally such as a good business contact or on the personal side, a date, being nervous and wanting to make a good first impression is natural. Making a wrong impression could set things in the wrong direction and close the door in the future. Making the right impression can be done with two simple tips; taking the time to listen and showing an interest in the other person.

When meeting someone for the first time, it is easy to fall into one of the biggest traps in a conversation, which is giving someone your own verbal autobiography. It's easy to want to tell someone all of your accomplishments, hobbies and passions in life, however, doing too much of it could bore the other person. Spending too much time on yourself could set things in the wrong direction.

During your initial encounter, take time to listen to the other person. While it may sound obvious, not listening will make it harder to have a conversation and make it hard to get to know someone. Take the time to listen to what the other person has to say, how he or she answers your questions and listen to the responses. By listening, it will give you other areas to talk about and make for a better conversation.

In addition to listening, show an interest in the other person. It's one thing to listen to someone but showing an interest in someone else will help make for a better conversation as well. Listen to the responses and show an interest in what the other person has to say.

On a recent trip to St. Louis to visit my sister, I had an opportunity to meet a lot of her friends I had not met before and had to utilize both tips when conversing with them at parties. In one instance, I met someone who plays in the same orchestra my sister plays in on the side.

During this conversation, I took the time to listen to what this person had to say and showed an interest in her responses. I'm not a classical music buff but didn't need to have a conversation with her about it. By taking the time to listen and show interest, I was able to learn how she got started playing viola, how long she has been playing for, how she got started with the same orchestra my sister is apart of and the different concert venues the orchestra uses. With very little knowledge on classical music, I was still able to have a conversation with this person because I took the time to listen to her and showed an interest in what she had to say.

While meeting someone for the first time can be nerve racking, taking the time to listen and show an interest can help lay the foundation for a great conversation.

Being Able to Do Something You Love No Matter What...Priceless

The wind was blowing and there was a chance of rain when I walked into the Twinsburg high school football stadium on Friday night for the Twinsburg vs Solon matchup. I had heard showers might be on the way, the wind was going to pick up and that the night was going to be a cool, fall evening in middle October. I was dressed in layers, had my hiking boots on and a camera on my side. I could hear the wind tussling and saw the skies darken but I wasn't afraid of the bad weather that was predicted to come.

Since I was a freshman in high school, I have spent numerous Friday nights walking into stadiums on nights like this one to watch a game. I've sat through rain, sleet, snow, and cold temperatures over the years. I've been through brutal weather before and this particular night was looking to be a cold evening on the sidelines.

Even though I knew it was going to be a cold night with the wind blowing and a chance of rain, I wasn't afraid. I knew the risk I was taking by being out there and had my cowboy hat, my hooded sweatshirt, a warm coat and my hiking boots to protect me from the elements.

Best of all, I had one a companion that has seen lots of weather like this over the years and was happy it was with me. That companion was my camera.

When I looked at the weather reports, I could have easily skipped the game and stayed home but I didn't want to. Even when the weather is poor, I love being able to see a great Friday night football game in person and on the sidelines. By adding on my passion of photography on top of it, I always have something to look forward to on Friday night and cannot wait to catch the game.

While the wind blew and the cold set in, I was happy standing on the sideline with my camera in hand to catch the game. Being able to participate in an activity I love at a function I enjoy going to makes it easy for me to stand on the sidelines in different weather conditions. Catching the action through the lens and sharing it later on makes every week enjoyable.

As overtime ended and Solon walked away with the victory, I walked back to my car and put the camera away. I had been out in the elements and standing for close to three hours but still had a smile on my face. I spent time doing something I love and it was well worth it.

College Students: Getting Involved=Getting to Know Other People

As a student enrolled in a four year college, obtaining a degree and starting a career is the ultimate goal. Taking four years to earn a degree in a specific field of interest is the goal for college students and lots of time is spent in the classroom during this four year period.

While the time spent inside the classroom and studying is always important, what you do outside of your classes is equally important. Studying is always a must but taking the time to get involved with campus activities has the biggest benefit of getting to know other people.

By taking time to get involved, you not only give yourself something to look forward to, you also can provide yourself with a group of friends. The best ways to meet people on a college campus is to get involved with different student activities and you may find the people you are doing these activities with can become some of your best friends.

While building a friendship base through student activities is a benefit, getting involved with other organizations on campus will help you meet other people who work on campus. For example, when I served as the Promotions Director for Otterbein's campus radio station WOBN-FM (www.wobn.net), I often had to work with other departments and organizations for some of our events. I had to work with the food services department at times, helped planned an event with admissions, and the Campus Programming Board. With each organization I worked with, it provided me with another opportunity to meet people who worked in some of the other departments on campus. It helped me get to know other people around campus and more people had a better idea who I was as a result.

By taking the time to get involved, you not only can meet new friends but others on campus as well.

Combining Two Passions

While growing up, high school football was a big part of my life. I never played a down of organized football at all but found several different ways to follow my hometown Solon Comets. As a middle school student, I often went to games with friends and in high school, I helped the Solon Community Television station crew with televising the games by either serving as a cameraman or play-by-play announcer. Whenever the fall came around, being at a football field on Friday night was always a fun way to start the school year and another season.

In college, I didn't cover as many Friday night games but managed to work on the WOCC-TV3 crew for games or called them for WOBN-FM at Otterbein College. I didn't have as many Friday night games to cover and even though I was two hours away from home, being out in the crisp air helping to cover a game made me feel like I was at home again.

When college was over, I managed to make it to a couple of Solon football games but wanted something a little more. I enjoyed watching the games from the stands but I couldn't always find someone who wanted to go and it was much different then doing play-by-play or working on a TV crew.

About a year after leaving college, I decided to take my camera with me to a Saturday afternoon game Solon was playing to take pictures. The game was at Shaker Heights and with it being sunny, all I wanted to do was take a couple of pictures. Photography had developed into a passion of mine in college and I figured I might as well take some shots if I was going to the game.

Even though it wasn't a Friday night showdown, being on the sideline and taking the photos helped fulfill the emptiness and need to contribute. It helped me get into the game, learn the nuances of doing sports photography and I received a warm reception when I posted the shots on Facebook.

Not too long after that game, I traveled to Hudson for another Solon away game and brought the camera with me again. I managed to get on the sidelines for the game and had as much fun as I did the week before. The pictures received a warm reception again and I was asked if I could come to more games in the future.

In my third season as a photographer for Solon football, combining a childhood passion with my love of photography helped filled the void I had felt when I left college. Taking the pictures each week gives me something to look forward to, gives me an opportunity to do the photography I love and I have enjoyed meeting the players, coaches and parents. Taking the time to combine one passion I wanted to keep apart of my life with another I wanted to do more of has made the world of a difference.

Ten Years Ago

Ten years ago this very day, I was a high school sophomore at Solon High School. Nothing felt different about that particular morning. I woke up, had my breakfast and headed off to school as usual. At the time, it felt a normal day.

Hours after I walked through the doors of the school and to my first class, I would find out why I would never forget that day.

While sitting in third period French, my teacher overheard another classroom across the hall. The teacher in that classroom was talking about two airplanes, New York City and the Pentagon. How these correlated was unknown to me until my teacher walked across the hall to find out.

“Students, there has been an attack on New York City and the Pentagon.”

It didn’t register the first time I heard it. All I could feel was shock and the halls were quieter as I walked to my next class.

As I walked through the halls, I noticed every television set was on and the same horrific images kept showing over and over again.

“Could this really be happening?”

That was one of the thoughts running through my head as I saw the images of the towers, the Pentagon and heard the news of Flight 93 landing in Pennsylvania. The images and the footage were repeated over and over and the nightmare never ended.

I’ll never forget my hands shaking as I opened my car door to drive home. I wanted to be with my parents that night and knew the same images were going to be shown at home.

Lots of innocent lives were lost that day and the world changed forever.

As the days passed since 9/11, my dad made a suggestion:

“Jeff, how about we go to the hardware store and buy an American flag?”

Within minutes, he and I both were in the car and we picked out an American flag that has flown in our yard since the aftermath of that horrific day.

I’m ten years older now and have not forgotten the horror, the anger and the pain I felt that day. I’ll never forget the horrific images on television, the Internet and the paper and wondering how the attack happened. A lot has changed in ten years as I am old enough to vote, have graduated college, have purchased my first vehicle and have begun a career but the sadness I felt that day is a memory that always remains.

On the eve of the tenth year anniversary, I flipped on a special regarding the World Trade Center. My dog Sidney, who is a little over a year old, was sleeping nearby until the image of the towers falling came on. I froze within seconds of re-living the image again and Sidney came right by my side. Sidney wasn’t alive ten years ago but knew I was affected by the image.

I will also never forget how the nation came together, how the American flag became more then a symbol for me, and I still send prayers to those who lost their lives on that very day.

We Will Never Forget

We will never forget

http://youtu.be/xFrwQpQCASU

Missing The Shots You Don't Take

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." - Wayne Gretzky

As a hockey player, Gretzky knew that not taking a shot on net wouldn't help his team score the goals it needed to win games. Gretzky found different ways to create opportunities in front of the net with this motto and is one of the many reasons he is a legend in the hockey world.

Even if you have never laced up a pair of skates or never play the game of hockey, this motto can be used in your own life.

When searching for a job, you won't make any progress if you don't take the time to send your resume out, network, or meet others. A prospective employer will never consider you for a position if you never take the time to send in your resume to him or her. A networking contact will never meet with you if you never take the opportunity to introduce yourself. Taking the opportunity that is in front of you can lead to bigger dividends later on.

On a personal level, one example where I took the opportunity in front of me occurred over a year ago when Terry Pluto, the famed Cleveland sportswriter, was writing a book about the Cleveland Browns. I have been a Browns fan my entire life and saw Pluto was interested in having fans submit stories to possibly be used in the book.

At this point, I could have taken that attitude that the chances of my story getting used were too small and why bother putting the time into it. Instead, I figured that taking the small chance I had was better then not taking the shot at all. After taking several minutes to write what I wanted, I submitted in the story.

Months later, I received an e-mail from Pluto informing me my story was used. The chances of him using it originally may have been small, however, taking that shot paid off in the end.

When you have an opportunity in front of you, realize that the shot you don't take will not get you the result you want in the end.