So, my job mostly involves talking to people and figuring out how I can help them, which I really like, but can sometimes be draining. For the longest time, outside of work I'd avoid "small talk" and trivial-seeming interactions.
However, this past year and even more so since I've started working as a fan photographer in a baseball stadium, I've been chatting with strangers a whole lot more and really trying to let people tell me what they know about things. For example, last night I got sushi and learned from the head sushi chef about toro and also the differences in color, texture and taste of different salmon. I also learned that his name is Sam and that he will comp sushi or sashimi if he wants to illustrate a point.
Anyway, talking to strangers: do you do it? If so, how has it added to your everyday experience?
Yeah, I have made a living of talking to strangers and managing to create an atmosphere of trust with them in a short time span. I call it the "I was the only brown kid in a white town and needed to learn how to get people to like me and then as an adult leveraged that skill set to make lots of money, syndrome." or IWTOBK syndrome. Edit: outside of work, I'm fond of talking to new people too. I enjoy humans.
No. I never learned how. Now other people frighten and confuse me, and I need at least a beer to even attempt to interact with a group of new people. EDIT: I'm being mildly facetious. Meeting new people is usually uncomfortable for me though, and I really don't know how to make small talk.
Yes! I love meeting new people, and the vast majority of people I've met are kind, thoughtful people once you get them talking. Americans live very isolated lives, it's very refreshing to tear down those barriers and make conversation. Just last night I was attempting to fill up on gas, but realized I left my debit card at home. It was 11:45 PM, the attendant had gone home, and I didn't have enough gas to reliably go find another station where I could pay cash. Just then, another car pulled up. It was pretty awkward, but from across the awning, I asked the guy if I could just give him a $20 and he could pump it for me with his card (weird situation, I know, and there's probably some legal code or popular scam that should have scared this guy away), but he ended up taking me up on it. It was a well lit area just off of a major road that runs through a nice neighborhood, and there were cameras pointed at us, so I wasn't really too afraid. We only talked for a minute or two as the gas pumped, but I chatted and made some small talk with the guy. He wasn't super interesting, and neither was I, but the gesture was really nice. Just like I said, most people are kind, and want to be helpful. "Stranger Danger" mentality is good for children, but doesn't need to persist into adulthood. Don't put yourself into unsafe situations, but don't be afraid of reaching out to strangers for help, or even for conversation in a public space. I dunno, maybe one day I'll regret it, but I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt.
Not usually, I don't particularly like people. Most are unreliable and dishonest. On the other hand, when I am a good amount tipsy, I turn into a social butterfly. I think this is due to lack of any real emotional investment accompanied by the fact that drunk people will laugh at jokes at their own expense without realizing it which I find to be very amusing.
I like to think of myself as a good person, not a nice one.
I think I tease everyone a bit whether or not I've been drinking. I used to be pretty mean all the time involving social interactions, but I never thought it was unmerited. Friends are kind of like your garden, you have to weed out the bad ones, and if someone cannot laugh at their own expense they're usually not worth having around for one reason or another.