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Speaker 1: Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the New Corner Office, the podcast where we share strategies for thriving in the new world of work, where location and hours are more flexible than in the past. Today's tip is to come up with smart ways to connect with colleagues and others. This holiday season, festivities will look different, but we can still figure out ways to network well and start the new year feeling more in touch than ever. In the past, many organizations hosted an annual holiday party. It's one of those traditions we don't think so much about, except that it's always there. Oh yes, I need a babysitter for some night in December or two, one for my spouse's party and one for mine. You eat a bacon wrapped scallop and raise a glass of champagne with people you haven't really seen all year. Sometimes it's tedious, but it serves a purpose reconnecting people with looser professional ties. Parties do that, and holidays are an occasion for parties, except not this year. Very few organizations are going to risk cramming people into a party venue where frequent eating and drinking makes mask wearing complicated. I'm not sure how many office parties are going to be mourned. Hey, it's a night where now you can just stay in and watch TV. You don't have to be on your best behavior while pretending to have fun. But still something is lost. So we need to come up with other ways to connect. The simplest way is to send holiday cards. Even if you don't normally do this, this year is a good one to start. You've seen far fewer people in person in recent months, so the mail is a way to stay in touch. I'd recommend doing a card where you can actually write something. I know that people like those photo postcards, but it turns out that you can do a photo on a folded card and then write something on the inside. This is far more personal, and yes you have time. It takes just a minute or two per card extra to jot off something personal about the year. You might also consider a small gift. This is actually a really good way to stand out from the mess of holiday cards. Try to find something meaningful but not junkie. Some people do something like Starbucks gift cards, and that's kind of a nice touch. This year, in particular, we can't grab coffee in person in many cases, so this is another way for me to buy you coffee. To really make it away to network, actually say that you will be reaching out to the person to schedule a virtual coffee and then do it call or email to set up a time. But of course that's not the only option. You could do. Small ornaments, maybe ones is asociated with a nonprofit or a small business that you'd like to support. Little notebooks and pens are pretty universally acceptable. Candy cane type confections are festive. A direct donation to a nonprofit that could use the help is a nice touch. A few dollars to a food bank per holiday card could pay for a lot of meals, and telling someone that you have paid for twenty meals for a family in their honor with your donation will probably make them smile. In any case, if you think about it, you can come up with some small gift that seems like you for less than ten dollars per card. If you are sending fifty cards, that's five dollars. If you're sending a hundred, that's a max of a thousand dollars. Not nothing, of course, but given that you aren't paying a babysitter for two weekend nights for holiday parties. You might wind up making some of that up. And if people take you up on your virtual coffee offer, well, who knows what profitable places that might lead. You can also take the ocasion to just reach out. When you get a holiday card from someone call You can email first if you'd like, or just to pick up the phone. Use something from their photo as a tie in. I love that photo of you guys in the Grand Canyon. We're thinking of going there next year. Any recommendations. The point is that even when we can't get together in person, the holidays could be an occasion for reconnecting with our weak ties. Who do you usually talk to at your office party or your spouse's office party. Who do you see only once a year at your professional association's annual holiday lunch. If you don't do anything, you won't see that person this year. So figure out a way to connect for alternative holiday networking and the season we'll still feel festive in the meantime. This is Laura, Thanks for listening, and here's the succeeding in the New Corner Office. The New Corner Office is a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts, visit the iHeartRadio, app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows.