What stops you from talking to someone at church, a party of some other social gathering? We’ve been looking at this question in the forum recently.
I had two incidents recently, where I tried to be friendly and the other person shut the conversation effectively down by their one word or terse answer. In each case I ended up feeling foolish for even trying to be friendly and initiate conversation.
One was a complete stranger I tried to talk to at a party. Her sharp reply and the look she gave me made me fee like a bug under her feet. The second situation was an acquaintance I see on a fairly regular basis. I suspect in this case there is some jealousy involved though why that should be so, I have no idea.
The trouble with these negative encounters such as this is that self-confidence is shaken. Although I sometimes come across as confident, I’m not nearly as confident as I appear. I suspect a lot of us feel like that when people react overtures of friendship n this way with curt answers or body language that tells us they’d rather be anywhere else talking to anyone else.
There are different ways people react that convince you not to pursue conversation further. One is the curt, one word answer. Another is the person who appears bored or looks around the room as though looking to see if there is anyone else to talk to. Of course it may just be that they are shy and lacking in self confidence themselves that produces these responses. It may be that they have been badly treated before and don’t want to leave themselves vulnerable again.
I know how that feels. After these two experiences, next time I see someone standing on their own, I know I’ll feel less inclined to go and try and make an effort and will have to work hard to overcome it. I think God will need to be at work changing me. What about you? How would you overcome the situation?
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