Tutorial: How to Talk to a Stranger

Talking to Strangers (About Music)

My intern, Abby, and I were talking about self expression. She is 16 and admittedly quiet.
"How do you do it? Talk to strangers?" she asked. So I decided to show her. We went to Barnes & Noble. We looked around, and I told her I would buy her a journal, and a pen so that she could better connect to her thoughts. We first need to connect to what we think before we are ready to express it.
Abby spent a while choosing the journal and pen she wanted. We bought them, and then headed to the cafe to find a stranger.
We sat down at a table. I had Ginger, my dog, with me, and I apologized to a young man at the next table for having her. "They'll probably kick us out," I said. He looked me right in the eye, and smiled. Maybe him, I thought. From his reaction, he was game.
Abby and I chatted a bit and I looked around. There was a young kid who would be funny, or an older woman alone, reading, who we could probably approach. Most people like to talk even when it doesn't seem like it I find.
In the end, I opted for the young man. Henry, he said his name was. Henry Diaz. And he was more than eager to share his thoughts on the world, well-thought-out articulate thoughts on sociability, social media, connection, etc.
Abby mostly listened, chiming in occasionally when I drew her out, but she was witness to the success of the mission, of being able to find a stranger and have a lovely conversation.
Thank you Abby and Henry for the opportunity! Try it people! Go to a cafe and look up from your phone. Make conversation. Say what you really think, and listen to what the other person thinks. Talk about it. Connect. Please. More than anything else, I think this is what the world needs for peace and love to prevail over war and fear.
XX
Steph