To read Nader Anise's bio on Wikipedia, go to:
Dear ,
I'm back from Tampa and the celebration for His Grace Bishop Basil.
Anba Basil is a new Auxiliary Bishop in the Southern US who will be looking after the Florida and Georgia Coptic churches' needs. We ask that the Lord bless his service.
While in Tampa, I was asked to give a little talk about Global Coptic Day and introduce the audience (both live and streaming on the internet) to what it's all about. Thank God it went well (picture is above).
I saw many familiar faces and was introduced to some new ones. I was happy to meet all those who came up to me and introduced themselves. It was real pleasure.
While I was about to finish speaking with someone, a person walked up to me and used a great line to break the ice. I might have mentioned this tactic before... but this time it worked on me.
This person (Mina) came up to me and said:
"We know someone in common!"
In the Egyptian community, which is pretty small, this is not surprising at all. In fact, what's surprising is if you DON'T know someone in common.
So, of course, this question appeals to your sense of curiosity. It did mine. I had to ask who it was -- he told me and we ended up having a nice conversation.
But, his approach did impressed me. I'm not sure if he did it purposely to break the ice or if that's organically how he started the conversation.
Like I said, this is a good way to start speaking with someone you don't know personally. If you don't know someone in common, you might have common interests in sports, clothing, business, education, social media, or a bunch of other things.
Just remember, commonalities open the door for conversation because it implies that you and the other person are alike.
And we love when people are like us, don't we?
Until next time...
If you have any comments, ideas or suggestions, please email me at: nader@copticchamber.com.
