Connecting with Guests

Here are some helpful tips for connecting with first-time guests

• Ask his/her name, use it in conversation, and work hard to remember it. This is important! If you haven’t learned the person’s name by the third time you talk with them, they’ll begin to question your sincerity. Write it down if you need to after you finish chatting with them.

  • Some Helpful Tips:

    • Associate their first name with someone else you already know.

    • As you’re talking to them, picture someone you know with the same name.

    • Use their name at the beginning of a sentence during your first conversation. “Caleb, where did you say you were from originally?”

• Maintain eye contact during the conversation. Stay focused on the present conversation and avoid looking around for other people you are hoping to talk to.

• Find common ground (interests, major, hobby, sports, family, hometown, etc.) to chat about.

• Think of someone else in Christian Challenge to introduce them to, someone that you think they might relate well with.

• Ask how he/she heard about Christian Challenge, if they were invited by someone specific, or if they know other people connected to Challenge.

• Bring up your Challenge Community casually in conversation. Explain what it is and invite him/her to check it out. A personal invitation goes a long way. If appropriate, try and connect them with a Challenge Community you think they would relate well with. Remember that if you don’t invite people to your Challenge Community no one is going to come.

• Get his/her phone number. (in a non-creepy way)

• Follow up with a text when you get home and set up a time to connect or invite them to join you at an upcoming event.

• Introduce him/her to your friends as they pass by.

• Always be more interested in him/her than yourself, meaning don’t talk about yourself too much. Focus the conversation on getting to know them and learning their interests.