[nfbwatlk] FW: [Youth-outreach] How Blind Youth Can Confidently Introduce Themselves To Strangers In Any Social Situation

[Mike Freeman]

Excellent social tips below. However, I am moved to wonder where the *parents* of the blind teens discussed below are? Isn't it the parents' job to teach the social graces?

Mike


-----Original Message-----
From: youth-outreach-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:youth-outreach-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of John Bailey
Sent: Sunday, December 11, 2011 7:27 AM
To: Youth outreach projects Support List
Subject: [Youth-outreach] How Blind Youth Can Confidently Introduce Themselves To Strangers In Any Social Situation

How Blind Youth Can Confidently Introduce Themselves To Strangers In Any 
Social Situation

Over the past few years, the national Federation of the blind of Virginia
has made extraordinary efforts to reach out to the blind youth in our state.
One excellent example of this outreach effort is the opportunities and
activities the NFBV have for blind teens at our annual state convention.

During the weekend of November 4, 2011, Potomac chapter president and Youth
Track coordinator Tracy Soforenko organized several activities for blind
youth that the kids would find fun while also being educational. Tracy
invited me to participate in one of those activities.

Tracy asked me to talk to the kids for a few minutes about techniques they
can use in order to feel comfortable introducing themselves to strangers in
new environments.

Part of growing up is to learn the social skills necessary to interact with
others. These skills are essential for anyone who wants to be successful in
advocating for themselves. Many of our blind teens are unsure about their
skills and are therefore reluctant to interact with others. Tracy set up an
environment where the teens could practice their skills among friends. The
teens got to practice introducing themselves, shaking hands, and carrying on
a conversation. And, the youth had the opportunity to become friends with
successful blind role models.

This isn't just the challenge for blind teens. Many adults blind and sighted
can be intimidated by having to introduce themselves to people they don't
know. I gave them some tips they can use to help break-the-ice at any social
situation.

One of the questions everybody has when they meet somebody new is, "what can
we talk about?" Here are two things right-off-the-bat you can talk about
with any stranger anywhere.

No matter the situation and no matter who you talk to, you have two things
you can already talk about. The first topic you can talk about is the reason
you are both there. All social situations have some reason for gathering.
The reason could be work related, it can be someone's birthday party, it
could be the meeting of a local civics organization, and it could be
anything. One good way to break the ice with a complete strangers to ask
them, quote what brings you here? Quote

Here is a second way to get a conversation going where you almost don't have
to lift a finger to participate. Asked the stranger about themselves. People
love to talk about themselves. They love to talk about their families. They
love to talk about their work. All you have to do is to listen. Believe me,
the better you listen, the more they will like you. It's just human nature!

It's perfectly normal to be nervous when meeting new people. I've given you
to tips that when you face any social situation, you have two sure fire ways
to start a conversation with anyone.

The first tip is to ask the person why they are there. Odds are, you are
both there for the same reason and there is already something you can share.
The second way to get a conversation going is to ask the person about
themselves.

Now that you can introduce yourself to any stranger in any social situation,
don’t forget to mention that you are a proud member of the National
Federation of the Blind.

John Bailey is membership Chair for the National Federation of the Blind of
Virginia. If you have any questions or would like to contribute any
additional advice, John can be reached by emailing him at
john_bailey17 at hotmail.com


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