Meeting strangers: some people love it, others loathe it. A positive self-image can help expat partners to relish even the most dreaded question of all…
Mindset
Global Connection consultant Karlijn de Broeck explains: “Whether you enjoy meeting new people has a lot to do with your mindset. Luckily, people can improve their mindset. A life coach can help with this. In my experience, the problem with meeting new people usually boils down to: ‘What will people think of me?’ Many expat partners particularly fear the question ‘So, what do you do?’ They have often given up their job to move abroad, so what can they say? ‘I take my kids to school’ hardly seems a valid answer to them. It makes them feel like a doormat.
Enthusiasm
I advise them to talk about what they do for fun. This steers the conversation into another direction, to a subject they can talk about with enthusiasm. The way you formulate your answer also influences people’s perceptions. A useful approach, for example, is to focus on who you help. Saying ‘I help my children to keep their native language skills on a par with their friends back home’ sounds much better than a plain ‘I look after my kids’. Some people I work with find it hard to come up with a subject to talk about. But all of us have a passion that will help break the ice.”
Photo: Benjamin Gonzales – Flickr
