I want to present three indirect methods of breaking the ice that help you feel safe because you aren’t necessarily walking up to someone just for the sake of starting a conversation.
The biggest part of the battle is making breaking the ice feel acceptable—it’s an “I don’t feel confident or comfortable” issue more than an “I don’t know what to say” issue.

00:14 The first, indirect method of breaking the ice is to ask people for objective information or a subjective opinion.
The second, indirect method of breaking the ice is to comment on something in the environment, context, or specific situation.
The third and final indirect method of breaking the ice is to comment on a commonality you both share.
We are searching for the “me too!” moment that can spark a deeper discussion, and thus improve the first impression.
I’m talking about people who share our values, look at the world the same way we do, and have the same take on things as we do.
02:50 Similarities make us relate better to other people because we think they’ll understand us on a deeper level.
So as mentioned, we typically use small-talk questions to find similarity, but there are better, more effective ways to discover commonalities with people.
It just requires you to look outside of yourself and realize that people share common attitudes, experiences, and emotions—you just have to find them.
Get comfortable asking questions and digging deeper than you naturally would.
09:00 In addition to searching out what is already there, we can create opportunities for similarities in a few ways—first physically by mimicking people’s body language, voice tonality, rate of speech, and overall manner of appearance.
The second way to create opportunities for similarities is to ensure that you share a healthy amount of personal information and divulge details—probably more than what you are used to.
Aside from searching for similarities and creating opportunities for them, consider that mutual dislike is a useful bonding agent.
What’s ultimately important is seeing eye-to-eye in some fashion, preferably one that is about your opinions, views, emotions, or choices/decisions.
They can be positive or negative—the goal is just to converge on something.

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Categories: Voice over Work