This week in Publication of Self in Everyday Life (PUB 101), we were challenged to initiate, or at least engage, in an interaction with a stranger. Luckily, not only am I outgoing to begin with but this is the week where all Business majors, like myself, are to participate in a three-day convention to meet people too, so this was going to be easy for me. I was out of the house 11 hours a day, conversing with not one person I knew before.
It started easy with a lady at the bus stop asking “Is this the bus to *insert destination here*?” because she had no more data left on her phone. I proceeded to give her a tip that someone had told me just before – if you type the bus stop number and the route number into a text message, it will send you all the information you need about that bus, including what time the next one is departing. She seemed uninterested yet I left my kind intentions as they were. This interaction proved to me that people are much more likely to be straightforward and to the point in real life compared to online.
I had a girl from one of my classes, whom I had never met before, email me saying she had missed class and was wondering if there was anything she should know beyond the information in the syllabus. What I noticed was that she was very kind and well-mannered, introducing herself and her intentions, and then thanking me for my time before I had even answered the email. This was quite unlike the woman at the bus stop, who abruptly asked the question and barely said a “thank you” at the end.
To end the story, I met alumni, stuff, and students of all years at the convention. Frankly, these interactions taught me more about myself than about others – perhaps a blog post for another time…
People say that the worst people to meet are usually online – but there are too many factors to agree or not. Its harder to grasp a person’s gestures, feelings, everything, but manners may be better online than in-person.