To a complete stranger?
I have often spoken to a complete stranger, it could be anywhere.
How about you?
I love talking to people, some start telling me about their family , on just meeting them,
It depends on the circumstances. I wouldn’t go up to someone and just start a conversation but if, for example, I was standing in a queue or something like that then I possibly would. I am a very private person but seem to have the kind of face that encourages others to tell me their life-stories! I was once standing waiting whilst my car was being valeted and a complete stranger standing nearby came over and started telling me about the break-down of his marriage and how his wife had gone off with the caravan …
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I think there are a lot of lonely people in the world, Margaret, …I know my elderly service users were extremely lonely, us carers were the only people they saw a day, as many were house bound.some also didn’t have family.
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Yes I think you are right there Pauline. Also, interestingly, it used to annoy me when carers called my Mum by her first name because I felt it was disrespectful. Then I was told that many elderly people never hear their first name because they are either Mum, Grandma, Auntie or the like, so my opinion on that changed.
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Just been to Tesco, had a good old natter with 2 complete strangers in the store.
Yes, in the largest part it’s what amateur radio is all about. We can look each other up online, as there is an amateurradio site that allows us to post personal profiles. But you never know who is going to answer when you put a call out. I have had responses from an aircraft 20,000 feet from Luton. A few from people driving across the Sahara, some mid Atlantic in a sailing boat. Some Scouts I often helped, had a response from someone onboard the International Space Station. I have spoken to people from across the world.
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Wow!..how interesting,Gee, 
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I only do if they start the conversation, I ‘d never do it myself
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I just naturally talk to strangers, …I wouldn’t go straight up to them though…some people just love you talking to them, it brightens their day I believe…
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That’s usually the case with me too.
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Yep I’ve spoken to plenty of strangers, may be in the supermarket.
More generally it’s been when queuing to get into a gig. Chatting to people in the queue helps pass the time 
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When you think about, we speak to strangers on the forum, don’t we?
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I have always talked to strangers in RL, after all a stranger is just a friend you do not know, possibly anyway. 
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I did that a lot when waiting for a bus, makes the time go much quicker,
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I agree,Tiff, that’s how you can make friends…one way anyway.
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One of the easiest ways to meet people is with dogs. Usually a simple, single encounter is all it needs.
That said, I think I’m usually quite comfortable with strangers.
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I don’t mind passing the time of day, but I’m not interested in their life stories or problems. I don’t tell them about mine and their business isn’t my business.
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I do find it really awkward when people want to talk to you on the train
My journey is about half an hour, that’s a really long time to get stuck talking to a stranger 
And once they’ve started it’s hard to know when to stop without looking rude when really I’d much rather just read my book, listen to some music or play with my phone after a busy day at work
People to tend to tell me their life history to!
Sometimes I feel like a train carriage psycotherapist 
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I often talk to strangers, but only a passing comment like the weather etc, I certainly dont encourage their life history, nor would I offer mine.
Yes, I chat with people I’ve never met before all the time - it usually starts if we happen to catch each other’s eye and smile, then I make some general comment … and off it goes - it is usually me who starts the conversation but I usually end up doing most of the listening, just making the occasional encouraging comment while the person I’m chatting with tells me all about themselves or their career or their wonderful children or grandchildren or whatever is on their mind.
Like @MargaretF, I seem to have the kind of face that makes people chat and confide in me.
Every journey I make by public transport involves an interesting chat with someone. I love people and enjoy hearing about the people and things they take pride in, their hobbies, interests and whatever makes them tick.
It’s all part of life’s rich tapestry
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