Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Conversation and Confidence Exercises

Personal Interview

What if someone wanted to know who you really are? What would they ask you and what would you tell them? These questions are not easy to answer. You have to have a strong lock on who you are, and have to make some decisions about where you are at and where you want to go. These questions will cause you to have to think a LOT about your life; that is the point of this exercise. When you are able to confidently answer all of these questions you will start to see strong gains in confidence and a better self image.

1. What is your passion?
2. Tell me 5 interesting things about you?
3. What makes you really happy?
4. What is one character trait you have that you appreciate about yourself?
5. What are the important things you need in a partner?
6. Why are those things important to you?
7. If someone wrote a list of things about you that fit their needs in a partner, what would they be?
8. What are your dreams for the future?
9. What are 3 defining experiences in your life that have made you who you are?
10. Name 3-5 beliefs you have about yourself that hold you back, and you would like to change.
11. What are your weaknesses and how could each weakness be viewed as a strength?
12. What really scares you about meeting a partner to enter a long term relationship with?
13. What are your assumptions about most of the opposite sex out there and their attainability, worthiness of a relationship, and their thoughts about you?


Five Topics

Think of five different topics you would enjoy talking about, as well as someone of the opposite sex would enjoy talking about. Come up with an open ended question to start you off into that topic. Ex. “What is your relationship situation?” for getting into a talk about relationships.

Emotionally Relating

Make a list of every positive emotion you can think of. For each emotion write down a short headline to a story, moment, or experience, when you felt that emotion.





Story Telling

Write down a story from your experience. Headline it, add emotions, details, and tell it from the “I” perspective. Now take that story and add more emotions and details. Remove extraneous facts and explain how and why you felt those emotions during that time. Keep adding more details and emotions until the story is so expressive you know there isn’t anything else you felt that is not in the story.

Deal-Breakers

What are the things about the opposite sex that are deal-breakers for you? A deal-breaker is any character trait, action, or belief that makes them immediately disqualified from ever being your romantic partner. Here are a few I want you to add to your list

1. Physically abusive
2. Verbally abusive or insulting
3. Lies more than once about anything important. (Or lies frequently about anything)

Don’t list things you think you should; list what you feel strongly about. Remember a deal-breaker is something that if it is revealed, you don’t just walk, you run away. Any present or future romantic relationship with this person is over if a deal-breaker is found.
Also don’t feel bad about adding a deal-breaker that others might not agree with. If you don’t want kids, and you find out that kids are important to your partner, that is a deal-breaker. Don’t expect them to change, either you decide you are truly ok with having kids, or you find someone else.

10 comments:

Pickup Podcast said...

Dan,

This stuff is gold. Looks like we did our interview a week too early! I guess you'll have to come back at some point! You're welcome any time amigo!

-Jordon
pickuppodcast.com

Anonymous said...

I can't believe that you put up this post! This is exactly the type of thing that I just realized I needed to do, but needed a little bit of a push and guidance. Really great stuff. I can't wait to sit down and really dedicate some serious time to figuring out my answers to these questions. Thanks so much.

T Square

Anonymous said...

OMG_
Best post ever.

questions:
"7. If someone wrote a list of things about you that fit their needs in a partner, what would they be?"
This isn't clear to me, please explain what you mean.

Also what is headlining it exactly? Is it Wilder's hook questions? You put the most exciting bit first to catch interest?
e.g.
Have you ever been eaten by a shark?

love
Goose__ :)

SocialHitchHiker said...

#7 If a woman made a list of qualities you have that fits what they envision they need in a partner, what would those qualities of yours be?

A headline is exactly that. The main idea of the story you are about to tell.

As an alternative to that excercise instead of writing just the headline, practice telling the story in a tape recorder with the "I" perspective, details, and emotions.

Anonymous said...

Awesome post. It's really humbling to see how little I really know about myself. Well, I suppose in a sense I do know all the answers on some level, it just really hard to express them consciously.

If only this was like the daily crossword and we could expect to see the 'right' answers upside down in the blog tomorrow...

Anonymous said...

This is the best post I have read about this topic in a long time and I got such an amazing insights about myself as a person and I can only imagine what more I will gain with this when I continue to do this exercise more.

I really appreciate the time and the effort you take with your blog and the commitment you have to help other people.

- Lauri

Anonymous said...

I really love this excercise! But I'm having some trouble about the "5 interesting things about you". What sort of things would be applicable?

SocialHitchHiker said...

Thanks Lauri and thanks for reading!

#5 I can't help you with that. Personally i answer that with 5 things that i find interesting about myself not what someone else would find interesting about me per se.

Fade said...

This is a great exercise, it helped me look inside myself more than i wanted to before.

It took me about 3 days to finish this because i couldn't come up with alot of answers.

I'm looking for some constructive criticism if anyone would like to (especially SHH) on my blog because i posted my exercise answers.

Fade

MartinT said...

Hey,
even if it has been said yet. THIS. IS. GOLD! I heard you on pickuppodcast and I couldn't wait to check out your material ;)

If i have difficulties to find answers.. It ALWAYS helps me to sit over a blank sheet with a pen A LONG TIME (can be hours..) and THINK about the question. Stop forcing it, just RELAX.. Then your mind comes up with answers automatically. If you're good at meditating or light self hypnosis, that might help too. (Can't remember where i got the first part of this technique from.. sry.)

Kepp it up ;)

Martin
(Hamburg, Germany)