Connecting With Strangers
ServiceSpace
--Chris Johnnidis
1 minute read
Apr 29, 2014

 

What makes the difference between you deciding to talk to a stranger or keep to yourself?  Saw an interesting article about improving our commutes by interacting with the strangers sitting around us.  Turns out some research shows that chatting with strangers created a positive experience for both parties, even if they went into it apprehensively. (For extroverts *and* introverts, interestingly)  Engaging with others also motivates us to be temporarily cheerful, which actually helps us stay more cheerful even beyond that interaction. Eye contact helps too. In another study, one group was super efficient in getting their coffee while another smiled and had a brief interaction; turned out that the latter felt happier.  [Source: Hello Stranger, NY Times]  This reminded me of a recent expose on relationships being more important than ambition, which makes sense intuitively on some level; kinda nice to expand the importance of relationships to our "weak-tie" stranger interactions as well. :)

 

Posted by Chris Johnnidis on Apr 29, 2014