Five for Five: Small Talk

3. Sometimes, people just want to talk


When I first spoke at the Joubert conference in Minneapolis, I was all set to talk about what I thought were really important topics like my experiences with healthcare, housing, and therapies. When I was asked questions about these and other topics, I tried to go out of my way to be formal and follow up with people. What I quickly realised was that sometimes people just want to talk, not be educated about something.

For example, one person had asked me about housing, and what I was looking for. Sort of foolishly, I kept going up to her afterwards, assuming she wanted more info. In hindsight, I should've realised that her question was just a question, and she was probably more interested in me interacting with her daughter.

This became a trend for the rest of the conference. Less educating and talking about the "big ticket" topics, and more time socializing, talking about little similarities like summer camps, school, and comic books, and being there for the other youth with JS.

I carried this over to the blog and later, the conference in Chicago, where I tried to be less informative and more conversational. I focused less on the topics I used to think were so crucial, and more on issues like bullying and success stories, stuff that everyone can relate too. And, you know what? I'm getting more positive feedback now than I ever did from talking/writing about the "big stuff".

So, while it's important to share about doctor's appointments, assistive devices, or housing registries, remember that sometimes it's just as important to ask "Hey, what's up?"

Cheers!