Are you primarily a people person?

[MarcusBear]

Would you strike a conversation with a stranger if there was an blatant shared interest between you say a band t-shirt, browsing the same games, music genre aisle etc... or do you prefer to say nothing and go about your merry unsociable way?

Normally I wouldn't, I have friends who jump on any occasion to chat with somebody, the greater of the time it just comes across as awkward and embarrassing so I tend to avoid it unless someone approaches me first or looks confident enough to cope with small talk.

I'm trying to improve, afterall you never know when you've involuntarily missed an awesome person that you could have known if you said 'hi...'

 

[Kip]

I don't know. I guess it depends. I don't normally chat with strangers unless there is a shared interest. Like, we are in the same class or are browsing the same section in a store or something.

 

[Mr Alex]

Not really, I also tend to hate people.

 

[Error404]

Easily. I'm a natural with people.

 

[ZodiacPup]

More or less. I say hi often, but chit-chat rarely occurs.

 

[Charlie]

Oh never... I would never really start a conversation with a random person, and I suck at small talk. I'm bad with hairdressers too, they always make small talk, I like people to be nice and quiet.

Although if somebody strikes me as interesting, I might say something... I dunno, it doesn't happen often. I'm pretty shy around people I don't know.

... Unless I was drunk or something. Then I'm more of a people person.

 

[Martin]

I barely talk with people I know let alone a complete stranger.

 

[ShippoFox]

No. Not at all. I wouldn't know what to say. It would be kinda awkward. Every once in a while someone will say something to me. I'll act friendly and try to reply, but then it gets quiet when I don't know what to say next. x_x

 

[starshine]

Oh yes.

I talk to strangers on the elevator just for the heck of it. If there is a shared interest, like if we are browsing the same store, or something I always do, as well. (If it's convenient and they don't look like they're in a hurry!) I really love to talk, and talk to people, because it's awesome.

 

[Pramrider]

In younger years I was never outgoing with people I didn't know. I still don't feel comfortable in large gatherings, be it family or just friends. It's something I've tried working on, and have made some improvements. Sometimes I will now strike up a small talk conversation with a stranger. Though, if it comes down to a yes or no answer I'd have to say generally no, not a people person.

~Pramrider

 

[dlt88]

Eh...depends on the situation. Most people are pretty approachable. I've gotten a lot of phone numbers while talking to someone in a line or in a store or something. You just have to let your guard down. After all, if the person turns out to be a total wierdo or you just don't have anything in common....you will never see them again.

 

[Peachy]

I'm don't generally strike up conversations with random people just because they happen to buy the same yoghurt as I do in the grocery store.
However, sometimes when i overhear people discussing a problem that I could solve, I will offer to help them, like the other day when I was looking at battery charger and some woman was looking for batteries for her cordless phone.

I'm also good at striking up conversations with random people like bus drivers over totally unimportant topics. It's weird really as people in the area where I live are known for being very quiet and reserved and don't generally talk to strangers. HOwever, living a year in a different country in a totally different environment has helped me with talking to strangers and taught me the art of small talk. So I'm just using my intercultural communication skills

Peachy

 

[ballucanb]

When I was younger I avoided people, I was always by myself, I had very few people who I could call freinds, around my mid 20's I started to drink, and then I was a little more outgoing.

After my accident in the late 90's I was put on some meds, and they made me more outgoing, and I still take these meds and if I take more than actully need, I become a babeling idiot and don't know when to stop.

But I do like talking to people now, mostly about shared intrests, but I think the internet has alot to do with how I feel, and I love to talk with people even though I can't see them.

 

[doubledbbw]

I guess I say yes I can talk to strangers. I do it all the time when I go to sporting events. Mostly at NASCAR races at the Michigan International Speedway. I also like going to classic car shows and love talking to people about there beautiful restored cars.:smile:

 

[Mandy]

^^ thats what i live for i love talking to people anywhere i go i meet new people i also like waving to people at the mall cause i get alot of diffrent reactions its uber funny!!! they are very confuzzled

 

[EmeraldsAndLime]

Am I a people person? No way, definitely not.

Do I strike up random conversations with strangers? Absolutely!

I think it's one of those cultural things we have here. You could be sitting on a bus or train, on a bench, standing in a queue, etc... anywhere where there is excessive amounts of doing nothing - You'll find that people will tend to start talking to you, especially the old folk. A couple of times I'd just be sitting on a bench in a shopping mall and an old person has started a conversation with me about how expensive things are nowadays... your typical, run-off-the-mill reminiscent stuff.

But that's not to say it's all old folk. I find young people take in mind those actions and do it themselves. Once standing in line to KFC, a 20-something guy just started talking to me about how he doesn't know what to get was asking me if I could make any recommendations.

As for me, I really only do it when something strange or otherwise attention worthy happens. I saw a bus go past once that looked like it was going to tip over because the hydraulics on one side had failed and I just turned to this guy next to me and just said, "**** getting on that bus!" and then we had a brief chat about how terrible public transport can be here.

If anything, I'd find it strange if people didn't just randomly start talking to me. I'm that used to it that it really is the status quo.

 

[Takashi]

I'd say it depends on the situation.

 

[avery]

it depends what mood i'm in.

i really work on overcoming my introverted ways. my instinct is to sink down into my own murk like a wallowing hippopotomus and never even look at the people around me. but that's a pretty boring, lonesome way to live your life so i try to be outgoing. i've gotten fairly good at talking to people once the conversation gets rolling, and i'll occasionally strike up a conversation with someone near me if i'm feeling sociable. the other day i even stopped someone i saw walking to ask her where she bought her pants. i'd been looking for some pants like that.

but if i'm not in the right mood, i just can't do it. if i'm tired, or i've been around people too much, or i'm brooding about something, the whole idea of striking up conversations and making smalltalk with strangers seems completely impossible to me.

 

[Mr Alex]

I forgot, I usually don't with many MEN at school, but I always tell women I'm a sexy bastard and ask them if they think its big or not.

It's rather fun being what I refer to as, an "Obnoxious Bastard." Life is about having fun and doing what makes you happy after all isn't it.

 

[dogboy]

I'm both a teacher and a music director, so I'm used to talking to a lot of people. Out in the general public, it's a little different. Like many others have said, I'll sometimes talk to people in stores, or be talked to by others. It isn't frequent, however.

The coolest thing that ever happened to me, though, was one time my wife and I were at a restaurant and a group of people several tables away were talking about this fantastic band, they named my band, and said how great the keyboardest was. Both my wife and I clearly heard them, and they weren't looking at us, and I assume they had not recognized me. It's the only time I felt famous. In reality, I'm a big frog in a very small pond, but still it was cool.