Socially awkward introvert here - sharing one real tip each day until February
Following on from my message yesterday.
Here is Day 1:
It started in March 2024. I was in Lisbon and my friend gave me this idea for practising small talk - market stalls. Here's what happened:
I walked up to stall vendors, smiled, and said "Hello, how are you?" That's it. No pressure to buy anything or be clever. The cool thing? Almost everyone responded warmly.
My go-to response when they asked how I was: "I'm great, enjoying the weather in Lisbon." Simple, but it often led to them asking where I was from, and conversations just... happened.
Most chats lasted maybe 30 seconds, some went 2-3 minutes. Did this 10-15 times a day for three days. Not gonna lie - it was exhausting but also exhilarating.
I brought this back home to UK farmers' markets. Changed it up slightly - started asking about their products. "Did you make these yourself?" or "These look great!" Same result - short, friendly conversations.
Key things I learned:
- You don't need clever opening lines
- Most people actually want to chat
- 30 seconds is plenty for practice
- It's okay if some conversations don't flow
- It gets easier with repetition
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it’s easy. It’s hard. My mind still goes blank (hence the short interactions), I still get nervous. But I’m still alive and I’m a slightly better conversationist for it.