Connect People with 2 Easy, 2-Minute Techniques

I know what you’re thinking. Connect people in 2 minutes? That can’t be right.

Connecting with your teammates and helping them connect with one another must be harder than that.

And, it certainly takes more time. People don’t connect in just two minutes.

Okay. I hear what you’re saying.

Deep connections do take significant time to create, but those connections start somewhere. And, you can be the one to get them started.

You can invest less than two minutes and start building connections with and between your teammates.

In this post I’ll give you two easy ways I use to connect people. And, not only do they really take two minutes or less. They also work.

Before I share these two techniques, let me do a quick reminder on the importance of connection.

Connecting – The first and most important step in leading a team

In my last post, 3 Things To Focus On To Lead A Successful Team, I introduced the framework for how I approach leadership. This framework is built on 3 words: Connect. Mobilize. Deliver. The first and most important step is Connecting.

In that post I describe why I believe connecting with our teammates and helping them connect with one another is critical. It can benefit their mental health and lead to success as a team.

With that in mind, I want to give you 2 ways for you to have an immediate impact with your team. Because connecting is so important, we need to act now and not overthink it.

We need to start simple and connect people in practical, easy ways.

Let’s start with one of my favorite topics, podcasts.

Connect people by sharing a podcast

I’m a big fan of podcasts. They are a source of continual learning and inspiration for me.

That’s great for me as an individual, but, as a leader, why not share what I’ve learned with others?

Passing along what I’ve discovered can obviously help another person through the specific content. But, there is an even more powerful outcome of sharing.

The act of sharing a podcast can build and strengthen connections within the team.

How sharing a podcast can connect you with another person

Obviously, this technique can be used with any resource, but I’ll stick with podcasts for now.

When you share a resource you consider valuable with another person, you are communicating several powerful messages to them. Here’s what you’re telling them.

I know who you are and you are on my mind even when we’re not together.
We have a relationship that helps me know what might be interesting to you and might help you.
You are worth enough to me to invest my time to send you a personal message.

All of these messages begin or strengthen your individual relationship and connection with that person.

How sharing a podcast can connect other people with one another

You can take this easy technique a step further to connect your teammates with one another and have an even bigger impact.

How?

Share the same podcast with more than one team member who might benefit from it.

But don’t just send a generic group message.

Of course, that’s easier and faster. But it’s best to send personalized messages to each person. You don’t want to lose the connection-building benefits of a unique, individual message.

You’re probably wondering how each person even knows you shared it with the others if you send separate messages.

Well, you tell them. Make that clear in each message. I’ll show you how in a minute.

So, how does sharing the same podcast with multiple team members through individual personal messages build connection?

It lays a foundation for group discussions and debate on the topic of the podcast.
You are communicating what you value and showing vulnerability and courage. This modeling promotes the same connection-building behaviors in others.
The podcast topic can stimulate one-on-one conversations between those you send it to.

Want to give it a try? It’s super easy. Just follow these steps.

How to do it in less than 2 minutes

Open your podcast app.
Scroll through the episodes you’ve listened to recently.
Pick one that you remember being valuable to you.
Think of one teammate (or more if you’re want a bigger impact) who might also consider the topic helpful.
Share the podcast episode through a text message or email with language something like this. Cut and paste this exact text if you like it.

“Hey friend. I found this podcast episode insightful and I thought of you. Hope you find it as valuable as I did. Have a great day!”

Or, if you’re sending the same message to more than one teammate, try something like this.

“Hi Rachel. I’m encouraged because I think the ideas in this podcast episode will help us make progress on the challenges our team is facing. I’d like to hear your perspective. I sent it to Malcolm and Nicole too. Maybe we can compare our opinions on this approach next week. Enjoy your weekend!”

See how easy and fast it can be to connect people? Simple, right?

Here’s another technique you can try next.

Connect people by starting an intentional conversation

This one requires a little bit of pre-work to get to know your teammates. Let’s assume you know at least a little bit about them.

You also need to be in the right setting.

The setting and the opportunity

Here’s the situation that provides you with an easy opportunity.

I bet you’ve been here more times than you can remember.

You and a few other people arrive a little early on a video call or an in-person meeting. You’re waiting for others to join and experiencing the slightly awkward silence.

You can throw away these few minutes by staying silent or talking about the weather. That’s what everyone normally does, right?

Or, you can take the opportunity to connect your teammates by bringing up an interest that you know your teammates have in common.

Before we get into the details of how to do it, let’s think about why this works. And, why it’s such a great opportunity to connect people.

How a short, informal conversation can build connection

People long to be connected with other people. We are designed to be in relationship with one another. I discuss that in more detail in this post and I truly believe it.

When we have something in common with another person, even something that seems trivial, we find it easier to relate to that person and connect with them at some level.

As leaders, we can help our teammates by simply making them aware of what they have in common.

This realization is often the start of a stronger bond between people who previously thought they were nothing alike. Those strengthened relationships between individual team members build a more cohesive and stronger team.

Conversations are the way people interact and discuss their shared interests. Therefore, as leaders we need to be purposeful in starting dialogues to help connect people on our teams.

It’s not hard. We just need to plan ahead and be intentional to make use of time that is typically wasted.

Let’s go back to the setting we described above. You purposefully arrive a few minutes early to your video call or in-person meeting. Here’s what to do next.

How to do it in less than 2 minutes

Look at the list of people who have joined the video call or look around the room if you’re in the same room.
Think about some of the things you know about those people (remember the pre-work to get to know your teammates?)
Identify a common interest or activity two or more people share.
Ask one of your teammates a question on the common topic.
Invite another teammate into the conversation.
Resist the urge to add your own comments. Practice the valuable skill of listening more than talking.

Sound hard or awkward? It doesn’t have to be.

Here’s an example conversation.

“Hi Sara. Good to see you on the call. Did your daughter have a volleyball tournament this weekend?”

Whether the answer is yes or no, you can follow up with a question like this.

“Jaxson, doesn’t your daughter play volleyball too?”

This example dialogue assumes you’ve been making an effort to listen to your teammates and get to know them.

You know Sara and Jaxson both have daughters who are volleyball players because, in previous casual conversations, you’ve asked them questions like, “What are you doing this weekend?” and “What sort of things are your kids into?“.

Learning about the people around you is easy if you ask good questions and pay attention.

Now, back to our example conversation.

After you’ve asked these two natural questions, Sara and Jaxson are likely going to continue the conversation until the meeting starts. Who doesn’t like to talk about their kids, right?

Conversations are an easy place to start to build connections

Conversations are naturally going to occur when people are together. Why not help people connect by taking the initiative to start and guide what is discussed?

Do you really want to talk about the weather? Again? I didn’t think so.

Think again about our fictitious scenario, as a leader, you helped your teammates connect and build a deeper relationship with two simple questions.

Those intentional questions, which were possible because you practiced the skill of listening to the people on your team, may lead to a deep and lasting friendship.

Or they may not. And that’s okay too.

Regardless of the outcome, you demonstrated how to lead with kindness and confidence by treating your teammates as real people with lives outside of work. And, you made an effort to make the most of time that normally just slips away.

In addition to all that, you created a welcoming environment for those joining the call. Hearing two teammates chatting about their daughters’ volleyball teams is much more inviting than awkward silence.

With less than two minutes and two simple questions, you did all that.

You built connections within your team and made a difference in people’s lives.

That’s a lot better than talking about the weather.

If starting conversations still intimidates you, go to the website Conversation Starters World. It’s packed with resources on the topic.

That’s it?

Now that you’ve read this post, you may be thinking this is pretty basic. It’s too simple if you are serious about leading people well.

You may be right. My approach to leadership is generally pretty simple.

But I’ve found that simple is always the best place to start. And, I’ve also found that applying basic, simple techniques consistently over time brings success. This especially applies to connecting with our teammates and helping them connect with one another.

Deep connections and relationships begin with and are nurtured through the seemingly simple interactions between people.

So, why not give these two ways to connect people a try?

What do you have to lose? Four minutes or less.

Trust me. It’s worth the time.

Let’s do something great.

Greg