5 ways traveling helps your social skills
Hola! Shalom! Hello! After traveling myself and speaking with other travelers, these are some of the top ways I have seen travel help people’s social skills.
Why we want to meet new people but don’t actually do it
We crave connection but rejection hurts…
7 Ways To Improve Your Social Skills (and why it’s the best time to learn them now!)
Here are some things we usually don’t think about improving…
The secret to changing someone’s mind
Our tribal instincts kick in, and our emotional brains light up on fire when someone else refutes our core beliefs.
What’s so funny?
Kurt Cobain sang, “I wish I was like you, easily amused” in the song “All Apologies”. That line always had me thinking about my amusement level vs. others’. In my late teens, Kurt took up half a wall of posters and pictures in my room.
I wrote a song
Almost 10 years ago I got hired by the Regional Director of Merrill Lynch. He was California’s head guy at the company. A tall, skinny dude with a charming southern accent, he was extremely high status, internally and externally.
Don’t Drop the Ball
A great first step to making positive changes in our lives is taking an honest look at where we’re at and figuring out what we want to change. Every New Year’s Eve, the ball drops. Are you dropping the ball in your life? Remember, the ball is in your court.
Don’t be afraid of alone time
I love meeting new people, joking around with strangers, and connecting with people I care about. But as social as I am, alone time is still vital.
Get Curious
How are you doing at life? Where are you right now? Kicking some ass? Struggling a bit? Somewhere in between?
How to Talk with Billionaires
A lot of us can feel a bit intimidated by uber powerful people, but they’re just people. Learn how it’s done from a former professional social butterfly.
Curiosity didn’t kill the human
Raise your hand if you like people watching. I love people watching. I can’t see you but you’d probably be raising your hand if I were there. Most people I meet like people watching.
Hot Steam and a Door Closed in my Face
Summer camp was amazeballs. Camp Grounded, up in Mendocino, at this summer camp for adults, we were unplugged for four days.
Are you a masochist?
What’s your suffering? Mine are self criticism, health paranoia, and some insomnia/fatigue.
50 Shades of Jaunty
“Most awkward date ever,” my friend told me. On a first date she’d gone to see “Fifty Shades of Grey.” She said they were both really uncomfortable and couldn’t wait for the lights to come up.
Damn Patience
I had my birthday earlier this month and while I’ve still got a ways to go, I feel good about where I’m at and where I’m headed. But who knows where that is? It’s cool to look back on my life so far and and see how I’ve grown along the way.
Why I’m in the south
We can choose these communities. The greater our social intelligence skills, the better able we are to consciously surround ourselves with people who help us thrive. How? Because the better your people skills, the more you realize you can approach and create meaningful connections with anyone. That gives you a powerful abundance mindset.
Reset your Life Here
We can totally change our behaviors and environment. At Jaunty, the school for social intelligence, we teach people how to become more aware of their behaviors, explore new ways of interacting with others and build meaningful connections. We can overcome our fears and social anxieties. We can learn how to approach strangers, build rapport, play with humor, and feel confident in any social situation. We can learn to be more assertive.
Waaa! Are You Crying or Cutting Onions?
2014 was a fucking epic year for me. Jaunty had its best year so far. I pushed my limits physically and emotionally. I’ve been in my best shape ever
Family Flip
Hopefully you’re looking forward to Thanksgiving. Amazing food, fun stories, catching up with good people, and some quirky and interesting traditions… Sound familiar? No? Okay.
Apartment Hunting, Jaunty-style
A swarm of anxious people surrounded the woman with the clipboard in the darkened bedroom. She handed out applications and people hunched outside on the stairs, filing them out.
Dare to be you
Most people do their best to conform and fit in… like it’s a good thing. But when it comes to being memorable, blending in spells certain death.
Is Being Jaded A Good Thing?
“First, I wanted to get rid of this feeling. What happened to my old enthusiasm? But as I read more and re-framed it, I saw it in another light. The best thing about feeling jaded is that you can think long-term. Your emotions can be more even-keeled and you’re not chasing the quick high of a new experience. In other words you won’t get temporarily fooled.”
Fight, Flight, or…Something Else
“I love the idea of creating the results you want by leading with your mindset. Had I fallen into the mindset that this woman wanted a confrontation, I probably would have done the passive thing and had a negative interaction with her.”
Why I don’t want to go to the gym
“A lot of us feel social anxiety around approaching people we don’t know. (“What if they don’t want to talk to me?” “What if I don’t know what to say?”) At Jaunty we give our students homework to go out and practice the social intelligence skills they need to meet new people.”
Make it easy
“This is a big part of Jaunty’s approach to our social intelligence course. Immerse yourself with accountability and accessibility until it becomes second nature, it might even become easy. Try it out.”
Your Loss
“Of course the ultimate goal is not to lose relationships, but sometimes this can’t always be the case. So get out there and pay attention and dig up extra emotional elements in moments you have with people. These are things like added laughter, adrenaline, touch, and love. In case you lose a relationship, as hard as it may be, you really can also hedge it with positives from other relationships. “
Blame Me
“I was having a deep conversation with a new friend in the middle of a Nevada desert and he was telling me his life story, it was a story of success, and adventure and a life most people only dream of. Later on in our conversation he mentioned, very matter of fact like, that he overcame two dark periods of his life of alcohol abuse and a strained family relationship.”
Talk People Up!
“But what happened next made me feel great. I saw my buddy and he gave me a warm hug and a loud hello and we all poured ourselves a drink from the rum concoction he made in a glass jug. It was delicious. He introduced my girlfriend and me to a group of his friends who I didn’t know. A minute or two later one of the women said loudly, “OHH this is the Eric I heard about.” We all laughed and exchanged some fun stories and the night really took off from there.”
Too Late, Baby?
“For instance, a 25 year old can ask, “Do I want to be a 60 year old with or without offspring?,” which is different than the more difficult question like, “Do I want kids?” This person may realize they would love the last 30-40 years actually having kids and grandchildren come visit them.”
Social skills will affect your whole year
“Thanks for really believing that social skills are learnable. This Jaunty journey is teaching me that no matter what personality type someone may have, our communication skills can always be enhanced and worked on.”
