Talking to Strangers

You know that old rule about never talking to strangers? I never outgrew it.

Problem is, if you never talk to a stranger, you'll never make new friends.

Now, the American Christian Fiction Writers conference is barely more than two weeks away. About 500 people are attending the thing, including me.

Do you know when I last had the opportunity to meet that many new people? Me either. Probably at a Society of Professional Journalists convention in my college days, back when I was accustomed to pretending to be a social butterfly. I just put on the professional journalist mask, came up with dark humor, donned a cynical edge and blended right in. Except I was sober. A marked contrast to most of my fellow student journalists.

The thing is, meeting new people doesn't come naturally for me. For the most part, conventions are considered social occasions, and besides, people are there, so I avoid them. My favorite line from the TV show "Monk"? He's standing in a small room with several people. He stops the conversation, points to several people and says, "You, you and you. You're breathing my air." I can relate.

Then again, I have about six people I consider close friends, and I don't live in the same state as any of them, so maybe I just need to get over myself.

Consider yourselves my life coaches. Tell me how you start conversations with strangers. I'm guessing, "Hi, I'm Melanie and I'm afraid of people" isn't the best intro.