{"id":77424,"date":"2018-01-29T12:12:42","date_gmt":"2018-01-29T20:12:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=77424"},"modified":"2018-01-29T13:34:20","modified_gmt":"2018-01-29T21:34:20","slug":"how-to-talk-to-strangers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/29\/how-to-talk-to-strangers\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Talk to Strangers"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the greatest joys of being alive is having the opportunity to talk, engage, and interact with other humans.<\/p>\n

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DOWNLOAD PDF<\/h2>\n

PDF: How to talk to strangers<\/a><\/p>\n

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Why street photography?<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been passionate about street photography<\/a> for a long time now, and I have always wondered why.<\/p>\n

A big element of it: I am passionate about talking to strangers.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why strangers?<\/h2>\n
\"Contact
Contact sheet. Laughing Paris.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you think about it, talking to strangers is kind of a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153weird\u00e2\u20ac\u009d thing in modern society. Ever since we were young, we were programmed to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153fear strangers\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, and to only trust our immediate and nuclear families.<\/p>\n

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But I think there is a beauty in interacting with strangers. The beauty is that sometimes when you see people who look differently than you, you cast them into a different category of the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153other\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n

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However I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve discovered in my life that humans are more similar than dissimilar. Regardless of our religion, race, ethnicity, or background, we all love our families, friends, good food and drink, and of course, good coffee.<\/p>\n

We are adding joy to the lives of others<\/h2>\n
\"LAUGHING
LAUGHING LADY by Eric Kim Contact Sheet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I think the beauty of photography and street photography is giving us the courage to talk to other people, especially strangers. I genuinely believe that most people are lonely nowadays, and any sort of human interaction or engagement is a good thing.<\/p>\n

\"Laughing<\/p>\n

When it comes to strangers, we are often worried about \u00e2\u20ac\u0153bothering\u00e2\u20ac\u009d them or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153wasting their time\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. But in truth, whenever we talk with a stranger or engage with them, we breathe new life into them, and give them our warmth and light.<\/p>\n

\"Woman
Woman laughing, NYC 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Also, I feel that when we interact with strangers, not only do we feel happier, our subjects feel happier as well. We feel happier because we have the opportunity to learn more about the life of another person, whose preferences and background might be very different than us. And the stranger is happy because someone else went out of their way to show them some human warmth.<\/p>\n

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The art of small talk<\/h2>\n

\"Mad<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m surprised that the smallest gestures, or how \u00e2\u20ac\u0153small talk\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can lead to great joy.<\/p>\n

Small talk can be simple. It can just be about the weather, about how the other person is doing, or just giving the other person a compliment. I especially like giving compliments to strangers, because compliments are free, and cost us nothing, yet give great joy to the life of another.<\/p>\n

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Also, by engaging in small talk, you are communicating to the other person:<\/p>\n

\n Even though we may be strangers and look different, I want to open up my heart to you, and give you a small ray of sunshine, however small.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Refreshing honesty<\/h2>\n

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When I talk with strangers and ask them how their day is going, most people will smile, be grateful, and just say, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Good, and you?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I usually try to refrain from saying \u00e2\u20ac\u0153good\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and I try to switch it up by saying something like,<\/p>\n

\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Oh I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t had my cup of coffee yet, so I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m feeling tired as shit.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Usually this surprises people, and makes me seem more \u00e2\u20ac\u0153human\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. Many people then tell me, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Oh, I totally know that feeling\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and sometimes if I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m talking to a barista, they will even give me a free cup of coffee!<\/p>\n

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We are often trained in small talk to not \u00e2\u20ac\u0153deter from the script\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. However, I think if we really communicate with others how we really<\/em> feel \u00e2\u20ac\u201d it shows that we are much more genuine and real. And by being honest, you build more trust with the other person.<\/strong> And by building trust with a stranger, you feel warmer around them, and both parties benefit by having the opportunity to share their life stories with one another.<\/p>\n

Uber conversations<\/h2>\n

\"eric<\/p>\n

I usually always try to chat with my Uber driver by asking open-ended questions such as,<\/p>\n