What I am not a huge fan of are the questions asked in a setting like this, with a microphone in the middle of the room and people rushing to get in line to ask their question.  I am always surprised at the urgency with which some people literally run to the microphone.  I will admit that at least some of these questions are usually relevant and lead to an illuminating answer from the speaker.  But what about the other kind of question?  You know what I’m talking about- the person who gets to the microphone and ends up talking more than he does questioning; letting the audience know his thoughts and opinions and then asking the speaker to comment.

I have zero problem with a succinct question that gets to the point in about twenty seconds or less.  It just shouldn’t take longer to ask a question.  Is it that people like the opportunity to feel like they were in fact the invited speaker?  Do they like the sound of their own voice?

Maybe the solution is akin to a shot-clock in a basketball game.  Each person has a certain amount of time to ask their question before a buzzer goes off.  Or even better, a dunk-tank!  In order to ask a question you have to climb onto the platform and if your question lasts longer than those twenty seconds, SPLASH!

If I ever become a public speaker (you never know, right?), I just might have to implement one of the above solutions to the interminable question.

I got the shopping part done in 10 minutes or so.  Then I sat down next to a man in his seventies, on a bench near the pier.  I had asked him if the space next to him was available and when he answered in the affirmative I heard what I though was an Australian accent.

I asked him if he was indeed from Down Under, but it turned out that he was from England.  This one question turned into quite the pleasurable hour-long conversation.  Not the first time this has happened to me (unsurprisingly enough)!

We covered topics from religion, to family, to rugby, to traveling the world.  I loved it!  There is nothing like making a connection with another human being and enjoying some one-on-one conversation.  Almost like catching up with an old friend at a cafe!

Don’t be afraid to chat up your next bench-mate.  You never know where your next fufilling conversation is going to come from!

I had the pleasure of catching up with a friend of mine recently.  A friend that I haven’t seen for over a year now, and had only exchanged emails with since we last saw one another.

We spoke for an hour or two on the phone and though in-person would have been better, I still very much enjoyed catching up.

It was another reminder how something small like a conversation can put a smile on your face or even make your day.  And what the power of connecting with another person can do as well.

Why not get together with someone you haven’t seen in a long time?