Lunch is a fine time to have a good conversation with a friend. Good food enhances your time together and dining can slow down and make your talk more meaningful.
Now, who gets the free lunch? Why, the guest you invite, of course. Who might that be? Here are some possibilities:
- An old friend with whom you've been out of contact. Invite them to lunch for a time to catch up on each other's life.
- An elderly friend or relative that, due to infirmities of age or lack of transportation, finds it difficult to get out to socialize.
- A person new to your workplace. When you befriend such a person by treating them to lunch and a conversation, you'll help them move from newcomer to one of the team.
- A retired person who helped you along the way, such as a teacher, professor, cleric, or mentor. If they are no longer professionally active, you can show them they still matter to you.
- An interesting person you know only slightly from a club or association. Spending an hour or two allows you both to have a deeper, more personal relationship.
- Someone you know who is struggling with finances due to loss of a job, home foreclosure, health care bills, student tuition costs, etc. In the U.S. alone, millions of people have stopped dining out because they cannot afford the cost. (Of course, you must be tactful when inviting them and paying the bill so that you don't tamper with their self-regard.)
These are a few possibilities you can consider, and there are others. As well, if lunch is inconvenient, invite for breakfast or dinner. The main thing is to provide and enjoyable experience with enough time to talk.
Now here is some good "free lunch" news. Because you are online, you are no doubt aware of many dining bargains. For example, sites like www.groupon.com and www.livingsocial.com offer daily discount coupons for most cities. Most of those are 50% off the dining bill, or coupons are offered as 2-for-1 meals.
One of my favorite sources for discounts is the Entertainment Book of coupons. Each year I save several hundred dollars on dining out and on many other routine expenses such as oil changes, dry cleaning, and rental cars. (My 2012 book for Las Vegas has $15,500 of discount coupons.) Entertainment offers 149 editions of their 2012 book for different cities and regions in North America, each at a modest cost of $30. If you purchase a book (valid until Nov. 2012) and put in a code for my Conversation Matters Press that publishes this newsletter, I will get a small commission to help defray my costs in sending it out twice each week.
To review the discounts for your city, go to www.Entertainment.com/support and enter my number, 962976. If you purchase one or more books, Conversation Matters will be credited with the sale to receive a commission to support this no-cost newsletter.
(Another thought: You might wish to consider buying a discount book as a gift for a friend or relative or a student away at school. Each year I give a book to my 3 siblings and some friends, and they all appreciate the savings.)
Until next week,
Loren
P.S. If you like this issue, please share it with a friend. You can do this by using the "Forward this email to a friend" link. |