Like on a bus, sitting on a bench, in a mall, etc. I'd like to try but I have a weird phobia

What do you guys say to them to start, like... "Hey what's your name?" Or come up with a question and go from there

At times, if they are carrying something I find interesting.

Only if they are female, about 6' tall, resemble Jennifer Connelly and measure 90-60-90.

That wouldnt be awkward or anything...

Its best to base it on the situation...i.e. if your sitting on a bench in a mall and you notice the person has bags from some random store, comment on it or something humorously. Or when waiting in line at the grocery store and you notice the person in front of you has an absurd amount of cat food, crack a joke. Its easy just dont be a cock.

Well, it's better to go "Hi, I'm ..." instead of "Hi, What's your name?"

I think it depends on the situation. At (large) parties it's awkward to use that approach because people will feel they are being singled out. If you have something genuinely interesting to say, go for it. Otherwise, the encounter will be awkward and you'll wish you didn't.

At get-togethers with friends or on airplanes/buses, I find it easy to get to know strangers without being introduced by some external force (like a mutual friend). Whether you can just introduce yourself or whether you need some cheesy line depends on surroundings. It's also not a good idea to be passive to a person when they stare at you and then decide five minutes later you want to say something.

If you have a tendancy to speak very fast -- or stare at people -- or show anxiety, you should seek other ways to find friends. If you're generally very chill and relaxed, people won't be as resistant to talking to you.

Funny this thread should come up today.

I was waiting in line to use a computer to print something at school today. And this guy behind me says, "Forgot it's 10th week" and I didn't fully turn around by I didn't know if he was talking to me or on the phone or someone else, but I ignored it because it wasn't really a question anyway.

I took out my laptop while in line to send something to myself to print. so, I'm literally standing up, laptop in one hand and looking for files. And the guy behind is like "so, what are you looking for" or something to that effect. I kinda turn my head and see he's not talking to anyone else and I'm like, "oh me?" and said I was looking for files to send to myself to print.

So, I'm opening my lectures and stuff which are in folders by classes ("Comm 143" Comm 125") and he's like, "so you're a comm major?" and when I turn to him, he's like "sorry, couldn't help but see" referring to my files.

I wasn't weirded out or anything. I mean, yeah, don't look at my files but there was nothing there to hide. And I was a bit intrigued. I said yeah and asked what major he was. He then introduced himself. He was even kinda cute.

I dunno, my turn was up less than a minute later, so that was it. Really out of the ordinary but kinda nice.

I would be one to talk to strangers but I always feel like they'd be "who the fuck is this guy and why is he talking to me?"

If, we are in lines or stuff and somebody just makes a general comment to let out frustration or just voice something out, I definitely would be inclined to verbally agree and maybe chit-chat about the situation.

Like, this one time, I was buying tickets from an automated machine and this woman comes to the one next to me. I forgot what she asked or if she just said something out loud and I responded but I ended up talking to her for like 5 minutes about what movies I had seen, she asked me what I thought about them (this was Oscar time, like Decemberish). It was really nice.

Raffi, remember this one guy was trying to talk to us while watching Rachel Getting Married?

I only do if there is a promise of candy.

I generally dislike it when strangers try to talk to me when I'm not working (it's supposed to happen there). Like when I was at the grocery store the other day, and a guy held up a box of Blueberry Mini-Muffins and told me how great they are and that he can't live without them. Whoop-de-freakin'-do...

On the flip side, I generally really enjoy people who talk to themselves in public and make it a priority to follow that person around.

But, like others said, if you want to talk to strangers, it's best to just make rhetorical statements ("holy hell, this bench/bus seat has a lot of weird bodily fluids on it!"). That way if they're the crazy type of person that loves to talk to strangers, they can jump all over your statement and you'll have a new smelly friend for life. If they're like me they can ignore you as it wasn't a direct question, and thus there is no social awkwardness that follows.

I will if they start the conversation first pretty much all the time. Fairly recent one was when I was at the theatre a few months back and a random boy sit beside me and told me he liked my shoes right when he sit down and just kept talking like he knew me his entire life or something.


I don't start them myself too much.

The guy in the sweats? Yeah!!! I wish we had kept up a conversation with him. I was very intrigued. He was kinda cute, wasn't he?

Yeah he was really cute. IDK why he was wearing sweats though. Or alone watching RGM. But he had a nice ass.

It's not like we were mean to him, we replied back to him. We just didn't follow through. Hehe.

I think I remember why we ended up not engaging in a convo with him. We were too busy making fun of the trailer for Changeling. I WANT MY SON BAAAACK!

Oh yes I do, it distracts them while i leave my cock in their salads.

If you don't talk to strangers then you would never meet anyone ever in the world.

I love talking to random people. Kind of my job being a cashier. But really, in any other scenario, I'm pretty comfortable with it. The kind of campus I'm on has a very nice environment to do so in too. People seem generally nicer and more willing to talk I guess in the Midwest. I could easily be wrong though, haven't got to spend a lot of time in big cities.

As for me. I hate people. Why would I talk to people I DON'T know?

Everyone starts off as a stranger

I'm required to talk to thousands of strangers face to face for work. And I've met some pretty incredible/unforgettable people along the way.

For example when I was in the Western Sahara 2 months ago, a family invited me in for dinner and 3 cups of tea while I was waiting outside for a car repair. Word of mouth spread and over a dozen family/friends/neighbors came over to see the strange visitor.

The family made this massive dinner for me which consisted of this huge communal bowl of rice and random meat. No silverware, just using fingers like shovels. It was like something out of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

So yeah, no stranger danger for me. I even signed up for Couchsurfing a few years ago. Has anyone ever used it? It's pretty cool.

Sometimes, yes. I rarely start the talking then, but I don't mind it.

When I was in DC some year ago I sat down with a bum outside of Burger King, bought him a burger and some Fries and we had a pretty lenghty chat. Interesting experience. Some other bums got wind of that shortly after and high fived me. True story.

I believe the technical term is outdoor person.