“Excuse me miss, do you know where I can find an organically grown smile?”
No. Wait, what? *Smile* Crap.
You never know what someone might stop and ask you on a New York City street. But on my hurried way to the gym that day, I had to give this gentleman some credit. Of all the comments, this was the most original one I’ve heard. Once I processed what he said, I was impressed. Then, I found out he was with the Humane Society and concluded someone in their marketing department was a genius.
With that small sentence, those 15 seconds, I went from rushed gym goer to smiling gym goer…thinking about the Humane Society. And that made me think some more. How do we humanely interact with others in our communities? How do we welcome potential new members? Taking it a step farther, if we can’t engage them, what is a phrase we can use to change their state, even for a few moments, to have them think about us and our message?
Here are some ways to get people’s attention in a positive and engaging way.
– Have you hugged a [insert your name here] today? (Free Hugs campaign!)
– Hi-five for your drive! (for commuter students as they enter the building)
– Insane in the membrane? (handout snacks during finals)
What phrases do you have that bring your community together? If you don’t have any yet, what are some you can come up with along with your team?
