I like to analyze things first from the largest perspective possible, and then go into detail. Thus, if we are going to talk in this blog about social interaction I think we need to start by defining a few things.
What is at the base of any sort of continuos social interaction? I believe Friendship. (At this point, I know some of you will say that you do not need friendship to have social interaction, and it is true. But, you do need to be friendly). There is no social interaction that I can think of where friendships or friendliness are not tools used for this type of communication.
Today, I am going to start of with a quote from what I believe is to be one (if not) of the greatest athletes to have ever lived.
“Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It's not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything.” Muhammad Ali.
Some things in life are intangible and indescribable; Therefore, how do you describe the word friendship? There is no class, at any school level, where you learn about friendship. And if there is, please let me know. I want to know what is taught in this class. Friendship, perhaps is the oldest and purest of human connection.
Let us go back thousands of years to the moment when two humans beings communicate and decide to do something together for whatever reason. I want to talk about what happens after they communicate, or decide to connect once again, and work together. When they repeat that interaction over and over again, is it the start of a friendship?
So, what is required for some sort of interaction to become a friendship? I believe that only two things are necessary. One, is the basic human ethical and moral values. In other words, having a common knowledge of the difference between good and bad, right and wrong. Second, just one point of common interest, where both can enjoy a nice conversation. With these two "tools", I truly believe a very light form of friendship (perhaps, today we call this acquaintances) may be formed.
Why are ethical and moral values important in the formation of friendship? Well, let us give a simple exmaple. You would not want to become friends (or even want to hang out) with someone who kills kittens, would you?
Even though some of these values are cultural, some are "universal". I need to agree with someone at the very essence of morality, in order to accept them as a possible friendship candidate. A very simple example, many people do not like gossipers because it goes against their own moral values of talking about people's backs. Thus, these people do not to surround themselves with gossipers.
Why are ethical and moral values important in the formation of friendship? Well, let us give a simple exmaple. You would not want to become friends (or even want to hang out) with someone who kills kittens, would you?
Even though some of these values are cultural, some are "universal". I need to agree with someone at the very essence of morality, in order to accept them as a possible friendship candidate. A very simple example, many people do not like gossipers because it goes against their own moral values of talking about people's backs. Thus, these people do not to surround themselves with gossipers.
My best friend and I have completely different backgrounds. We were both raised in different cultures, with different languages, etc. Yet, we connect so well thanks to the nature of our moral values. We have never talked about this, but we both understand and agree (I go back to the quote) what are these sets of good and bad. In other words, what it means to do good and do bad, and be good and be bad. If we did not share these values, our friendship would have probably never been the same (and this is coming from someone who, at first, completely misread this person).
I have done a bit of traveling in my life. Not to many places, but enough to visit three or four different cultures. I am a big football fan (soccer for those american readers), and whenever I talk about this topic I open up to people a lot more than I would with any other topic. To start off, it is a topic which I feel comfortable discussing. But, it is also a common link between me and strangers. For example, the other day I went to change the oil in my car. Now, I live in Berlin and do not speak that much German. I payed at the cashier and went to another counter to wait for my receipt and the car keys. There was a middle age mechanic who probably saw that I was a bit lost and asked me if I needed help. I asked him where I could go pick up my keys, and he explained. Then he asked me where I was from. As soon as I said Madrid he asked me about the Champions League final that, at the time, Atletico de Madrid and Real Madrid were going to play. It turned out that this mechanic had live in Spain for a few months and knew a quite a bit about the spanish league. We talked about football for about fifteen minutes, discussing players that have played in Germany and Spain, coaches, old teams, new teams, and a few more things. It was a nice conversation, and I could have stayed and talked a bit more, but I was in a bit of a hurry. My point is, I had a conversation with someone, who I would have never talked to in the first place, thanks to a common point of interest.
Sometimes we forget how much we have in common with a lot of people. The only problem is that mostly we are too scared to initiate a contact. What if things were a lot easier? What is there was a way that could help us initiate a conversation? Well, Coca-Cola certainly had a good idea. Are there others?
I have done a bit of traveling in my life. Not to many places, but enough to visit three or four different cultures. I am a big football fan (soccer for those american readers), and whenever I talk about this topic I open up to people a lot more than I would with any other topic. To start off, it is a topic which I feel comfortable discussing. But, it is also a common link between me and strangers. For example, the other day I went to change the oil in my car. Now, I live in Berlin and do not speak that much German. I payed at the cashier and went to another counter to wait for my receipt and the car keys. There was a middle age mechanic who probably saw that I was a bit lost and asked me if I needed help. I asked him where I could go pick up my keys, and he explained. Then he asked me where I was from. As soon as I said Madrid he asked me about the Champions League final that, at the time, Atletico de Madrid and Real Madrid were going to play. It turned out that this mechanic had live in Spain for a few months and knew a quite a bit about the spanish league. We talked about football for about fifteen minutes, discussing players that have played in Germany and Spain, coaches, old teams, new teams, and a few more things. It was a nice conversation, and I could have stayed and talked a bit more, but I was in a bit of a hurry. My point is, I had a conversation with someone, who I would have never talked to in the first place, thanks to a common point of interest.
Sometimes we forget how much we have in common with a lot of people. The only problem is that mostly we are too scared to initiate a contact. What if things were a lot easier? What is there was a way that could help us initiate a conversation? Well, Coca-Cola certainly had a good idea. Are there others?
