This is an iHeart podcast, guaranteed human.
Run a business and not thinking about podcasting?
Think again.
More Americans listen to podcasts than add supported streaming music from Spotify and Pandora.
And as the number one podcaster, iHeart's twice as large as the next two combined.
Learn how podcasting can help your business.
Call 844-844-iHeart.
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeart Radio.
Good morning.
This is Laura.
Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is that if someone asks you a question you don't really want to answer, you can pivot gently, take the conversation in a different direction.
And it is quite possible the person won't even notice what just happened.
So we have all been asked awkward questions.
Sometimes those questions are about personal topics and they're asked by people we're not really that close to.
Or sometimes the questions are about heavy subjects at moments when we just don't want to go there.
But the good news is that you don't face a stark choice between talking about something painful or being rude.
There is another approach, which is realizing that you are engaged in a conversation and not an interrogation.
You can respond in the spirit of the question without answering it literally.
Pivot to take the conversation in a different direction, about a related topic perhaps that you are comfortable addressing.
So if a work friend asks what you did over the weekend and you don't really want to talk about the sadness of helping a friend move her mom into assisted living you could say you are looking forward to going to your new book club that meets for the first time on Monday.
You finished the book over the weekend.
Has your colleague read it?
If you liked Outlander, you will totally like this book.
Or if someone asks you how things are going at work and you've just given your notice, but your boss has asked you not to share that news until there's a plan for finding your successor.
You can breeze past the question with oh works fine, but I wasn't there last week because I was in Massachusetts visiting old friends.
And then you can launch into the highlights of your trip.
What this approach recognizes is that people are generally asking you questions not because they are nosy and not because they are on a fact-finding mission.
They may not even be all that curious about the topic they asked you about.
They just want to express interest in your life and connect.
So if a topic comes up that you don't want to talk about, just honor the interest in connecting and take it somewhere that you would like to go.
Folks who have had media training may recognize this technique.
Years ago, when I was first learning how to answer interview questions for television and radio, I was told that you can pivot from the question they asked to the one you want to answer.
Just give a brief sentence on what they said and then you can go to.
But you know, the real issue here is or that's certainly an issue, but what I found most exciting is
I once witnessed a gentleman running for Congress do this again and again.
Any hot-button issue zipped past on his mission to talk about securing federal funding for a local infrastructure project.
I am sure that is what his campaign staff told him did best in focus groups.
And so that is what he was going to talk about.
Since I have been on the other side of such interviews, I can tell you this is occasionally annoying in a journalistic context.
Sir, can you please answer my question?
But in most social situations, people just want to connect.
They may not win the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting or something like that, but that is not what they were aiming for.
It will all be fine.
In the meantime, this is Laura.
Thanks for listening.
And here's to making the most of our time.
Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.
If you've got questions, ideas or feedback, Before Breakfast is a production of iHeart Media.
For more podcasts from iHeart Media, please visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
There was no anything inside those eyes.
They turned black.
It scared the hell out of me.
Evil, wake up.
I'm the one that saw the murder take place by Krivak and DePippo.
Anthony DePippo showed no signs of remorse, appearing unfazed after being sentenced to the maximum.
I said I'm not guilty.
I'll take it to the grave.
Listen to The Devil's Quarry and the Bone Valley Feed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Joy is essential and it's also elusive.
But now there's a new and exciting way to start your journey toward a more joyful existence.
Joy 101.
It's a new podcast hosted by me, Hoda Kotb.
If you're craving inspiration to maximize your joy, tune into these candid, uplifting and moving on-air chats.
Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Joy 101 and listen now.
Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb is presented by CVS.
This is an iHeart Podcast.
Guaranteed human.
