An early moment in the Traveler In Your Own Town training…. engaging with a stranger, in this case, in an elevator.
Here’s the full story:
‘I looked through the glass doors of a building and saw a man about to get into an elevator. I got into the elevator with him and asked how his morning was going. He gave a nod and short one word answer.
I tried again and asked what has gone well for you today? The gentleman’s face lit up and he seemed generally surprised and delighted that someone would ask this. He thought for a moment and told me his 7 a.m. meeting had been very productive and his optometrist had ally been able to get him in for an appointment and he was excited about getting a new pair of glasses. It was interesting to see how an open ended question changed the entire interaction.’