RE: Social Skydiving

On the 30sleeps blog there is a post I really like about meeting people spontaneously entitled "Social Skydiving". My roommate Evan pointed me to it.

http://30sleeps.com/blog/2007/08/01/social-skydiving-the-art-of-talking-to-strangers/

Although I had been building up this skill before I left for my backpacking trip across Europe I found that in Europe I really was forced to develop this skill.

I wanted to add a few things to this though:

1. Be entertaining.

If you know some funny jokes, can tell interesting stories or even know some magic tricks it can help a lot. These kinds of things soften people and make them relax thus making them more open to developing rapport.

2. Be interested in other people.

People love to talk about themselves. In fact when you talk about yourself, unless it is in the context of how it relates to the other person, you are probably boring that person. Ask questions and relate their answers to your own experience.

3. Be energetic.

As Brad said in his post, communication is all about the exchange of energy. The words themselves matter very little. If you are happy, positive and energetic, people will be attracted to you like a magnet. If you are having trouble with this (I am often tired after a long day of work and martial arts) I suggest energy drinks.