Talking to Strangers — Book Review — with an update on how I applied it
The one thing that is naturally uncomfortable for anyone is talking to strangers. And somehow we are supposed to do it all the time. So I picked up this book, precisely titled ‘Talking to Strangers’ by none other than Malcolm Gladwell. Gladwell is a commonly known name seen in the non-fiction alley of any bookstore. Of course, there were no second thoughts when I started the book.
Coincidentally, after reading the first chapter, I moved to Mumbai. I am surrounded by strangers, I talk to strangers to survive.
Key Takeaways:
- We do not judge rationally. We believe someone not because we have no doubts about them, but because we do not have ENOUGH doubts about them.
- Transparency is the idea that the way people represent themselves on the outside with expressions and behavior is authentic and reliable. But that is not true.
- For every culture, the way of expressing common emotions is different. A happy face may not mean a happy face everywhere.
- We expect the best of people, or we expect the worst of people. The later can have devastating consequences. Miscommunication can lead to tragedies.
Reading Experience:
It captured my attention immediately with a very critical case stories. It has increased my anticipation for what comes next, it is exciting, and I am afraid that the next chapters should not fall short.
It takes the four takeaways and goes in depth with stories. The open threads of thoughts were well closed with lessons. It does its job.
Applying the lessons and learning from it:
I am an archetypical ambivert. That is, I can nail conversations with strangers and I generally enjoy getting to know people (because I do not have enough doubts about them). But once I know enough to make a judgement, and if it is doubtful, I tend to shield and protect myself, closing the door for more conversations. Now I know why I do that, and I have better strategies to communicate with people from a more neutral perspective.
I no longer let my doubts lead me to expect the worst from people, and have developed better channels of communication to work around them.
It was a good book.
Image Source: WBUR, Here and Now
