BunInTheSun27

BunInTheSun27 t1_jaeu3z6 wrote

Disclaimer: I am a late-bloomer socially, but I do generally like talking with people when not under attack from weird forms of social anxiety.

Something along the lines of acknowledging what they said first would help. I.e, “Oh cool, you went to Paris!“

Then, ask follow-up questions: “I’ve heard there’s great food in France. What was a favorite meal there?”

Acknowledge again: “A simple croissant at the Louvre? Sounds lovely.”

Question more if you’d like: “Did you get to do everything you hoped for?”

Acknowledging again: “Ah, Notre Dame was still under construction from the fire. I heard about that, what a shame.”

Tbh you can do this for as long as you’d like. It gets easier the more you do it. Of course there is the chance of coming off as a interviewer, which is why acknowledging what they said and sympathizing (meal at the Lourve = lovely, missed out on Notre Dame = a shame) are important. But people like talking about themselves generally, so it’s easier than you’d think.

It’s possible to hold an entire conversation without talking about oneself. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Leaving them to want more is ok! Wanting to connect is a human trait, it’s an honor to be the witness to someone else’s sharing. Your time to share will come, and with practice you might find that if they never ask you a direct question themselves, you can decide how much energy to give then. Does that make sense?

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BunInTheSun27 t1_j1s12qs wrote

If you talk to those people missing their families from other wars and genocides, you will generally find that they too miss their families. The reason you’re “constantly” hearing about this one is because it had so many fucking casualties so recently that people are, in fact…still missing their families.

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BunInTheSun27 t1_ixspjdp wrote

I personally think this is a fun idea. Of course you can drink just water, like many point out, but the reason to vary the intake types is to overcome flavor boredom. Very common phenomenon. It’s why it’s easier to eat a lot of many kinds of foods than a lot of one food only (ie the foundation of many funny restriction “diets”). This tip takes advantage of that psychological phenomenon and uses it to make a healthy habit fun! It’s the same reason I have many kinds of tea and seltzer flavorings.

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