What do you first tell someone when you meet them? Besides hello, and your name, and extraneous small talk, what do you tell them? What is the first thing you want someone you meet to know about you, and how much does it change from person to person, situation to situation, mood to mood, and moment to moment.
What changes it the most?
People in sales have an arsenal of them, some for laughs, some for seriousness, some to get the purse strings loosened, but that’s part of their job. Almost everyone has at least some icebreaker trait, even if it isn’t planned out. I have to admit, I don’t have a set story or plan on what I tell people about me when I first meet them, but there are definitely guidelines depending on the situation.
Thinking it through, one of the most common characteristic of an icebreaker story would be brevity, or maybe of a “good” icebreaker. Few things will turn me away faster than a ten minute monologue from someone when I first meet them. Of course, I’m not usually so rude that I will cut someone off, but I make sure I don’t get sucked in again.
Other common traits for icebreaker stories would probably be themes, and a hook at the end to get everyone thinking.
