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Alex Hillman Podcasts Episode 50: Community Engagement

Supporting the Community

People can connect with a group of like-minded people, and create with them.  To best support the community as a whole, think about how one person’s idea will impact the whole community.  You should not just be focused on benefitting any one niche within the space.

Additionally, older, more veteran members of the theatre help facilitate new members and bring them into the community.  They spread the welcome that they received. Due to the people continuously coming in and out of the theatre, there is always one person there that can help.

Connecting Community

In order to truly connect a community, you need to know what people need and how to connect them.  This is especially important when they do not know they need to be connected or can benefit from a certain connection.  It is your job to put people in a room together that may not otherwise intersect.

Indy Hall has members that enjoy facilitating these interactions.  For the member in this episode, he gets both personal and professional satisfaction.  Personal satisfaction comes out of helping build relationships. Professional satisfaction comes from the fact that they may need his legal services down the road.  Your circle of influence can grow alongside the relationships you help build.

Becoming a Part of the Community

It all starts by introducing yourself.  Not all introductions have to incite some kind of transaction.  Be genuinely invested in what they do. The member in this podcast noted how he likes to talk to people.  So, he has made a point to interact with everyone at Indy Hall. There is a real interest in what they are interested in and motivates them.

When you stop being curious you stop learning.  Curiosity is a great motivator. There is so much to learn from people around you.  However, learning can only be facilitated when you express genuine interest in what other people are doing.  Curiosity and interaction is like a muscle that needs to be worked on to build up.

Relationships do not appear on the superficial level.  You cannot go to someone only when you can benefit from them and expect a relationship to develop.  Relationships need to be nurtured at the interpersonal level. Interpersonal relationships matter most but hey have to be worked at.  They do not just manifest. These relationships are rewarding in a lot of ways that are not always immediately apparent.

 

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