The Power of Conversation

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The power of conversation and a smile. I recently had to travel with work and, while in the airport waiting for my return flight, I decided to try an experiment. I was going to go out of my way to talk to people. The waiting area was full of people glued to their lap tops or starring into space. Some were reading magazines while others watched outside the window. I hyped myself up with confidence and scouted for my first subject. Two guys beside me were in conversation about having never been to Dallas and what they were going to do when they got there. I chimed in, "you've never been to Dallas?" I followed up with questions like "where will you stay?" and "what do you intend to do there?". I continued by outlining an itinerary for the guys based on the north Dallas area they would be visiting. I drew maps and gave directions. We laughed, and as conversation flowed people began to line up around us waiting for the plane to allow for boarding. An older man in a cowboy hat recognized us as conversing strangers and he chimed in with his two cents as we talked about cities north of Dallas. "I remember when Frisco was nothing more than plow fields." he said. A girl standing in front of him responded, "Now it is great for shopping. You guys should visit the Shops at Legacy." I sat back and watched conversation flow contagiously between 6 strangers. The room, where quite strangers once sat, was now filled with talk and friendly smiles.

As I boarded the plane, I continued the experiment. I found a seat near the isle towards the back of the plane (it was unassigned seating). I left a seat open between me and a stranger sitting by the window. As the plane filled with people I saw a kid lugging a skateboard down the isle looking for a seat. I smiled, motioned him over, and stood up giving him the middle seat between the stranger and I. "You skate?" I asked. And conversation took off. He was 11 and lived in Missouri. He was traveling to Dallas for his cousin's wedding. He began to point out the other members of his family on the plane, telling me his 16 year old brother was in the row directly in front of us. As the plane started to move I engaged the stranger by the window into the conversation, "how about you sir...what do you do?" He was a 45 year old attorney from Tyler. As the three of us laughed about my fear of flying, I saw the older brother sitting in front of us trying to peek back and see what all the discussion was about. The guys beside him evidently chose not to talk. He looked as though he didn't realize his little brother could be so interesting as to hold a conversation with 2 strange men. As we traveled 12,000 feet above the Earth the three of us talked more, and the attorney asked the boy if he liked to play games. When he responded "yes" the attorney pulled out a new Sony PSP and handed it to him to play. "Wow!" the kid exclaimed, and now the older brother was really jealous. He tried to completely turn in his seat to see what was going on.

We continued our flight sharing stories and discussing our interests. As the plane landed the 11 year old talked about how he loved to play lacrosse and how he had two games every Sunday morning. "What about Church?" the attorney asked him almost sarcastically as the plane pulled up to the gate in Dallas. The 11 year old handed back the PSP and began gathering his stuff responding, "Oh, I'm not a Christian."

What do you say? How do you respond? Love? Acceptance? Questions? Nothing?
An odd ending to the story, I know. But that is how it happened.

Today I encourage you to talk to strangers. To love the "unlovable" and to smile so much that others may question your sanity. How can you positively effect every single person you come in contact with today? Can you positively effect every single person you come in contact with? Contemplate these questions and respond with application and follow through.

Also prepare for the unexpected response.

I care about you and I am praying for you and yours.

-- Jonathan Pokluda