Let’s dig a little deeper into connect and interacting with others, particularly strangers.
Obviously, most of us gravitate towards people with a similar style of communicating or towards people with whom we share something in common. But its important to learn how to positively and productively interact with people outside of our comfort zone. It’s all about learning how to nimbly shift your normal every-day interests in order to adapt and make interesting conversation with others.
Just remember (and we’ve talked about this in previous blogs) DON’T BE FAKE. You’ve got to learn to show genuine interest with another person is talking. Even if there seems to be no genuine interest in what the other person chooses to discuss, you need to somehow meet them half-way. Embracing one another’s differences will help you grow as an individual. After all, how dull would life be if we were all the same?
Here are some connecting tips:
#1 Try and look at the conversation through their lens
#2 Find out what motivates them to enjoy their chosen topic of discussion
#3 Find out what their personal history is behind that motivation
Inquiring may uncover a commonality that could be used to bridge a single-sided conversation into a mutually enjoyed one.
Next time you encounter a group of people, challenge yourself to gravitate towards a stranger (or even more challenging a group of strangers). Explore ways to adapt and expand your interests to build new relationships. Our world is communicating more and more via social media and instant messaging and less and less via face-to-face. Learning how to connect with different people will help give you a competitive edge in social environments as the generations to come moving less and less towards face-to-face interactions at a rapid pace.
Your ability to effectively connect with individuals and/or groups will leave an inspirational impression on them. You will be more remembered by those individuals or groups versus those parties who failed to find a way to connect.
2 Comments
I was just discussing ,on the phone, with a friend who attended a function and said everyone was different than they were. I tried to give advice on how to engage others in conversation and meet new people.
I then sat and began to read your “Tips on Connecting Outside Your Comfort Zone.”
I think, in our society, many people have become one sided and fail to see good in others because they wont apply these these tips you mentioned. Thank you Brian- good tips.
Thank you for the feedback Henry.