Practice.

I have a lot of people that ask me how I talk to strangers. And I tell them one thing above all - Talking to strangers, like anything else, takes practice. Not practice to say the perfect word in every sentence but practice to overcome fears and be authentically yourself throughout all of them.

It actually takes practice to not think about all the words coming out of your mouth and just be truly present, with a clear mind.

Authentic, balanced conversation requires a lot of energy and focus for it to flow through the curious ups and downs it will naturally take. All of these twists and turns deserve your focus and clarity.

Diminished intrigue or curiosity is noticed, intuitively, immediately, can be difficult to recover from. It can make a conversation start to feel forced or, even worse, transactional, and if it does… It will always end shortly after.

Like with any practice, it will feel awkward in the beginning. You will feel dumb. But, like with any practice, through repetition, confidence will trickle in and give the much needed foundation to continue.

I can promise you this - Authentic conversation is worth practicing because it will open up the whole wide world to you. The world is full of information and wisdom and, the more you interact with it, the more you grow each and every day.