Different people worry about different things, clothes, tonight’s dinner, education, future and more often the past. But, one of the biggest problems faced by people bitten by the bug called wanderlust is how to initiate a conversation with locals. While it appears extremely easy for us to swipe right and talk to a completed random stranger over social media, we find face to face interaction extremely difficult, and all the more with locals while we are travelling. But hey, fret not, here are some points to help you initiate a conversation with localities and um…maybe, you could ask them a local recipe for your tonight’s dinner. We solved another problem, didn’t we?
1. SMILE. You’re approaching your victim…I mean, the local. Smile and relax. You want the other person to feel comfortable around you too, right?
2. Politeness. Being a creepy weirdo, grinning like an idiot and an arrogant loudmouth would make the other person run away. As it is said, the first impression means something.
3. Keep the conversation light. Don’t indulge in a tragedy or complain about the place you are travelling to. You just met each other for god sakes. Appear humble and let him/her know your purpose of conversing with him.
4. Be honest. The other person can tell whether you’re bluffing or not. Keep your approach straightforward and don’t slouch. Locals can be wary of foreigners, while some others could be pretty welcoming. Beware in all situations but don’t keep your guard too high that it might annoy them.
5. Don’t take it personally. Even after being polite and honest, some locals don’t want to converse, unless you’re being brash or obsessively interrogating. Relax, there are plenty more locals around you.
Follow these points and you shouldn’t have any problem in initiating a conversation with a local while travelling. Don’t sweat like a pig. Go, make that move as it is rightfully said, “Strangers (in this case local) are friends you’ve never met.” Happy conversing!