Last week, as I was standing back looking at a shelf of spices in my local grocery store, a guy walked behind me, pushing his cart. As he did so, I heard him say to himself, “They’re playing Christmas music already!” I turned and caught his eye. “I know,” I said. “Crazy, isn’t it?”
No, this article isn’t about whether stores should be playing Christmas music on November 13th. Don’t worry, I’m not going to open that can of worms. Instead, it’s about how that man, who was at first just talking to himself, suddenly smiled when a stranger started talking to him. It’s about just one little thing that you can do to brighten someone’s day.
My grandfather is an expert at talking to strangers. He does it effortlessly; it’s part of his makeup, I think, to somehow manage to strike up an animated conversation with anyone, be it the lady behind him in a lineup or the teenager at the gas station who needs help with his beater car. It’s easy for him, but what about for the introverts like me? For us, it’s much harder to suddenly strike up a conversation with someone who is likely going about their business avoiding eye contact. I’m the type of person who’d much rather email than use a phone, and if the phone is absolutely necessary, has to mentally prepare themselves before dialing. I usually avoid conversation. But trust me, even a simple comment to a stranger can make a difference.
Things strangers say to me definitely make me feel better. (Unless they’re yelling at me, in which case the opposite is true.) Whether it’s a compliment on my coat or a comment on the state of fruit for sale, it means that someone actually bothered. As an introvert, I know that making a random comment to someone that you see can be challenging. But I like to do it anyway, because I like it when someone does it to me!
Talking to strangers can be easy once you get over your initial hesitation. If you think about it, being in places like shopping malls with so many other people and yet ignoring them as though they aren’t there is one of the strangest things that we habitually do. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to throw a smile at someone, mention a book title to the person next to you at the library, or make a comment on the weather to the person you pass on the sidewalk.
I heard a story recently about a young man who refused to go in for online dating. Determined to meet a girlfriend in the “traditional” way, he was in a Starbucks one day when he said a simple hello to the girl behind him. Because of their courage to speak to one another, total strangers as they were, they are now happily married.
I’m certainly not saying that your motivation in speaking to a stranger is to get hitched. But this is just one thing that can happen when you actually bother to converse with people you don’t know! So I encourage you to go out and talk to strangers. A whole conversation isn’t necessary; simply acknowledge them. You could be the bright spot in someone else’s day!
