I'm so nervous right now.

I'm Angela Duckworth.

I'm Mike Mon.

And you're listening to No Stupid Questions.

Today on the show, how do you connect with someone new?

How do you feel about your relationship with your mother?

Oh, wow.

Mike, my question for you is, how do you, Mike Mon, connect with somebody you just met?

Because you are really good at meeting new people.

I've seen you do it in the context of these Utah jazz games, but I've also seen you do

it in the context of these big annual conferences that you have helped to coordinate for Qualtrics

for years.

So I get to watch you backstage and in the, you know, mosh pit of the audience itself

and you're just like meeting people left and right for the first time.

And I've always been struck by how easily you do make those connections.

This is an interesting question.

So if you know who someone is or know who you're meeting with, I think it's different

than when you just meet someone for the first time, randomly, I will admit that I follow

the example of a friend of ours who taught me the power of preparation.

Wait, wait, who's the friend?

Our friend, Ariana Huffington, I think has been such an amazing example because the

first time I ever met with her, we were meeting formally for a scheduled meeting.

...