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

Sun Dec 11 19:43:07 UTC 2011

THESE tips will sure help me overcome the stranger thing. When I was little,
my mom always, always no matter what, she used to say, "please do not talk
to strangers." so with that instilled in my mind I don't ever talk to
strangers at all. I was known in high school, according to an IEP statement,
for not asking questions to any community member for assistance on the route
while on a bus route, except for the bus driver. So I will reflect on this.
Thanks for sharing.

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Denise Mackenstadt
Sent: Sunday, December 11, 2011 10:02 AM
To: NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] FW: [Youth-outreach] How Blind Youth Can
ConfidentlyIntroduce Themselves To Strangers In Any Social Situation

I would like to reply to your comment.  I agree that parents should be the
first stop to work with any child on social skills.  The problem is that
parents of blind kids are many times lost as to how social interaction is
impacted by blindness.  This may be a misperception on their part.  Many
times it takes us as the experts on blindness, blind people ourselves, who
can tell parents that yes they can help their children in these areas.  The
reality is that many times sighted people think they cannot relate.  As
blind people we can have a huge impact on letting blind youth and their
families know that being competent in a variety of social situations is not
rocket science but common sense.  The field of education of the blind has
put forward a mindset that social skills can only be taught by the
"professional experts".  Again, parents and students are not given the
common sense belief that they can raise their blind kids as they have raised
their other children.  So, yes, parents should be teaching these skills.  I
believe that our role as blind people is to help parents and youth to
believe in their own common sense.  
On Dec 11, 2011, at 9:24 AM, Mike Freeman wrote:

> 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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Denise Mackenstadt
dmackenstadt at comcast.net

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