How to Talk to Stranger

How to talk to stranger

In the speech, Helgi Eyford talked about how to talk to stranger. In this speech, the word stranger is defined as people who we don't want to talk to, which is mainly because the different religion or culture makes us uneasy. Helgi thinks that talking to stranger is the moment that our assumptions are being challenged, and make us to think again. As a matter of fact, culture is the key factor that causes the problem. Because everyone has his or her one culture, we view the world in different ways and think differently. To communicate with others in different culture, one of the best things to do is try to understand a behavior that doesn't make sense to you, by thinking of what kind of values or assumptions give rise to the behavior. Besides, you can say something to clarify your opinion to let others understand you better. As for specific method, Helgi Eyford mentioned that creating a safe place, sharing your story, and negotiating a common story are good ways to talk with strangers.

Nowadays, talking to stranger is inescapable. Before I came to U.S, I went to Thailand with my cousin. The local tour guide had a crush on my cousin and had some body contact like touching her shoulder or trying to hold her. My cousin was so unpleasant because she thinks it's kind of not respecting her. The tour guide went to our room and told my cousin that he liked her. My cousin refused him in a euphemistic way, what shocked us is that he has a wife and their relationship is quite good. Then we began to think him as a flirtatious man and avoiding contacting with him. We can't understand his behavior until we watched a play about their culture. We noticed that Thailand is a polygamous country, and the character in the play chased the girl he loved by trying to hold her. Then everything seems make sense.