Shaking up the midweek

So in my last post I mentioned how I wanted to be a part of something. As I searched for groups to join nothing was pulling me in. As I was riding to work on Monday morning I knew what I needed to do. I created a couple groups of my own. I thought of them as pilot groups. A test to see how many people I can 'tolerate' in my leisure time. After all if I'm not required to be with these people then there's no need to overdue it.

On Monday it all started. I sent out an email blast to some people at work and others I know. Wednesday night I suggest we hit the dirt jumps/pump track just Northwest from where I live. We would head over after work and ride for an hour or so. Not a long commitment but an event nonetheless. I got six quick responses and it was all set.

The way I worded the message was a bit different than usual. I read in a communication book that when you want to be more persuasvie or soften up the receiver, use the word 'you'. Directly send the message. For example, one sentence in the email: "this may be the last warm you'll be able to ride". It seems like at that point it becomes personal. This was the expermentation with 'you' and the first time responses came within minutes. I wanted to try it again.

Another group I want to start is a Wednesday night bar trivia crew. A bunch of bars across the city have trivia night mid-week (Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday) to boost business. They are fun to do with a group and drinking is secondary because focus is on the game. I sent another email to about 8 people using the same method. The ringer sentence was: "And since you are all smart and love to go out on Wednesday nights you should come." The same result occurred. 6 of the 8 people responded in 5 minutes. I just think this is cool.

Everyone seemed to have a great time during both events and agreed to do it again when the chance arose. The riding group probably won't meet again until the spring but they'll know what's waiting for them. The bar trivia group I can only see growing due the the the mid-week event and the stable people attending. So, there's a cool experiment to try.