Becoming Interesting: Meet Lots Of People

[MartialDev]

Originally Posted by annie

Becoming Interesting....by being interested.

It's the simplest formula in the world!

I agree with what most of you have said...however. Don't be long winded. Just remember that others typically love the sound of their own voice more than they love your voice..if ya know what i mean.

If you are sincerely interested, it is great to express that. But doing so does NOT make you interesting! It just makes you convenient.

[Keith]

The problem I have is meeting people. Outside of the workplace I have no idea where to go to meet interesting people.

BTW, I second the motion re: Toastmasters. IMO, Toastmasters helps less with conversation skills than you might expect (because the focus is delivering a prepared speech rather than just nattering).

But what it does help with is confidence. Once you've proven to yourself that you can stand up in front of a crowd of people you don't know and deliver a speech (and if I can, anyone can!), nothing else seems as scary anymore.

[Mark Lapierre]

Originally Posted by Keith

The problem I have is meeting people. Outside of the workplace I have no idea where to go to meet interesting people.

I find class-based short courses to be really good for meeting people. You get to meet people with at least one common interest in an environment that is usually encouraging of getting to know one another. I've met some fantastic people through yoga, swing dancing, and Japanese classes.

[Lynni]

I agree with Henry - meeting new people is a great way to be a more interesting person and to also be more interested in life. I don't seem to have a problem with this. I love to have conversations with total strangers. In fact, I am constantly approached by strangers who ask me for directions and for my opinions. Many even to confide in me about their families, boyfriends or childhood memories

What I have a problem with is getting to know people I see consistently on a daily or weekly basis. It's hard for me to get past that barrier between random interaction and familiar friend. I relate comfortably with strangers or with people I've known since childhood, but not people I am in close contact with at work or community functions, even though we've known each other for years. I've attributed this to living in a small community with a rigid set of cliques (just like in high school!) where you have to show a certain willingness to conform (not my strong point) to be accepted, but maybe I just have no skills in this area.

Any advice in this area would be much appreciated.

[Cassie]

I love meeting new faces. Honestly, you just never know what quality tidbit that person sitting next to you on the bus might offer into your life. The first step is being receptive to such 'oddball' encounters.