For a long time, I bought into the belief that it's hard for introverts to relate to people, especially people they don't know.
In the last couple of days, I have busted that myth not once but TWICE.
On Friday, I was at Dale Beaumont and Dr John Demartini's seminar at the Melbourne Convention Centre. I went with an open heart to learn and to engage with anyone who might cross my path.
The whole morning, I felt a little left out because the lady on my left seemed to click so well with the lady on her left, and the lady on my right discovered a fellow Demartini fan in the guy on her right. Everyone seemed to have someone to talk with except me.
Yet when lunchtime came, I found myself saying to the lady on my right, "So where do you plan to do lunch?"
And she mentioned a couple of places around the corner and ended with, "Why don't you just follow me?"
Lunchtime became such a gift because I discovered how much we had in common, which made conversation easy and effortless.
I even built rapport with the guy at the counter and discovered he's Malaysian and has been in AUS for just 6 months. When he brought our food, I thanked him with "Terima Kasih", which tickled my lunch partner because she's been to Bali and she says everyone goes "Terima Kasih" all the time.
Yesterday, while waiting for Beth to finish her drum class, a young guy with a guitar came in. He sat down near me and we made eye contact. Quite extraordinary for me because I don't usually look strangers in the eye like that. But we did.
And proceeded to have the most delightful conversation about guitar, the gigs he does when he's not being an IT guy, how the teenage girl in the guitar class puts him to shame with her amazing rendition of Sweet Home Alabama.
At the end of our little chat, he introduced himself and asked me my name.
Simple ordinary and unexpected occasions like this, I'm discovering, are perfect for practising rapport building skills and expanding my comfort zone. You never know when you'll make a new friend.
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