Are you willing to try a new kind of conversation? Would you like to connect with people, even those you meet in the most casual of settings, in a way that reveals something real and alive about them?
Take a chance, just ask with curiosity and interest, “Have your read anything interesting or fun recently?”
My experience is that, once the shock wears off, one person out of twenty may ask,”Why do you want to know?” When this happens to me, I tell them the truth- I am always looking for something new/intereting/different to read.
What may surprise you though is how many people laugh and say, “Oh, I don’t really read.” But if you ask, with kind interest, “Really? Nothing?” you may find people sharing with you as they have with me:
One fellow said he was “practically” illiterate – turns out he likes to listen to spoken word cds. He likes John Maxwell, Stephen Covey and Napoleon Hill. He is really into self improvement and enjoys and learns better from hearing a book read. So do I !
Another man told me he didn’t read for fun, but he did allow that when he was in airports, and wanted to have something fun to read, he would pick up The Economist because he was interested in politics. (I’ve known this person for many years and never knew he was interested in politics !). Since he always told me what a non-reader he was I never would have guessed he read The Economist for fun !
One lady told me I would not like the books she enjoyed because they had vampires in them- little did she know (see my earlier posts).
Do you see a theme here? Many people think their reading interests are silly, not important or not even “reading” (if it isn’t done with a printed book). Isn’t this a shame and a scandal?! I see how people light up when they can share something that they choose to do because it interests them. Because it interests them, I can connect to them in ways we just couldn’t do if we stuck to “safe” topics (the weather and everybody’s health !).
Once they give me an opeing, if I just “go with the conversation” and follow where they are willing to take me, I truly can share an part of someone’s life in a way that is meaningful for both of us. And often I get new reading ideas for myself.
So start practicing now. Ask someone you know, but don’t know what they like to read, “Have you read anything good lately?” If they say they don’t read ask “Really? No magazines, newspapers, online sites, etc.?”
Play the game and see what happens and please add comments to this post about what you find out about the other person and yourself as you share !
Thanks,
Kathleen
