Consider me a friend

If you'd like to get to know someone better, say so

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is that if there is someone you would like
to get to know better, say so. Letting people know

(00:23):
that you consider them a friend can make a real
friendship far more possible. So, you probably encounter dozens of
people every week in your day to day life. Some
of them you probably know well. Others are fine as
casual acquaintances, but there may be a handful of people

(00:43):
you see regularly that you would like to get to
know better. Connecting a little more doesn't have to be
a huge time commitment. Simply saying that the other person
should consider you a friend or referring to them as
a friend can go a long way. It lets the
other person know that you would welcome making your connection

(01:05):
a little deeper. So, for instance, when you run into
a yoga classmate at the grocery store, introduce her to
your kids as your friend from yoga, and suddenly she
is your friend. You have affirmed the relationship which you
have been building when you chat after class every week.

(01:27):
If you are wrapping up a work project with a
colleague from another department, and want to maintain the relationship,
Say so, I appreciated getting to work with you on
this project, and I'd love to stay in touch. Especially
if the colleague is new to your organization or more
junior than you, you could be even more direct and
say consider me a friend. You could invite them to

(01:51):
reach out if you could ever be helpful, But in
any case, simply vocalizing that you see them as a
valued colleague and friend is enough, because when you are
friends and trusted colleagues, of course you can reach out
to each other for help or insight. After the last
meet for your kids summer swim team, don't just say

(02:13):
goodbye to the other parents the same way you would
on any other day. If there is a parent you
want to keep in touch with, let them know you
can be direct without really feeling awkward. Simply saying let's
keep in touch or consider me a friend. We'll get
the message across. Or with an upbeat, casual tone, you
could say text me friend and pave the way for

(02:37):
the relationship to continue. Let them know that your connection
doesn't have to end with the swim season. Once you
have affirmed that you want to move from acquaintance to
friend or close colleague. There are a few steps you
can take to move that along. For instance, if the
other person says I'd love to stay in touch, you
might offer up something adjacent to what you already do together.

(03:01):
For instance, if you see a colleague in the break
room when you eat your lunch, mention that you've been
wanting to try the new Vietnamese restaurant in a neighborhood
and ask if they'd like to join you. Ask the
mom of the kid on your soccer team if she'd
like to walk laps around the field with you. An
even more low key option for deepening a connection is
to text the person On occasion, if you see something

(03:24):
funny or that makes you think of them, send it along.
If you know the person has traveled somewhere, ask for tips. Eventually,
a texting relationship can become deeper. Given how many people
want more connection in life, I don't think you need

(03:45):
to worry about feeling too forward with all of this.
Most people will appreciate your letting them know that they
can consider you a friend. You might be able to
get something on the calendar together, something that you will
be looking forward to in the meantime. This is Laura,

(04:07):
thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've
got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at
Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a

(04:35):
production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit
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