Talking To Strangers

Sep 8

It’s rather obvious that there isn’t anyone in the world that knows all of the other people in the world. It is therefore logical to conclude that each person will encounter strangers. Some people are good at talking to and interacting with them while others are completely unable to do it. Whether it is in line at the grocery store, waiting at the post office, going to a friend’s party (where there are some people that you know and some that you don’t), or sitting at a wedding banquet, it’s pretty easy to see how you handle strangers.

And I find it rather strange that sometimes it’s actually easier to talk to strangers than it is to talk to people that you already know, especially those that you have not interacted with in awhile, and it’s especially true for those that you only know superficially. With people that you knew before, it seems like it gets awkward after the initial greeting whereas (depending on the strangers) it can be much more enjoyable to find out about a person from the start as the conversation continues.

In my case, I often hope not to have to talk to people that I know superficially previously, especially in situations that will span a considerable time (like the aforementioned wedding banquet scenario). It is worlds less awkward to talk to strangers.

Although if the stranger is out to rob, punch, or otherwise do harm to me I reserve the right to prefer a person that I know superficially. And if the stranger is dull and uninteresting, then I also reserve the right to hate talking to the stranger.