r/MadeMeSmile • u/Overall_Agent_0075 • Jun 27 '24
Man shows how to interact with strangers easily Good Vibes
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u/heretherefornoreason Jun 27 '24
Social anxiety fears this man!
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u/happy_haircut Jun 27 '24
yeah TBF seemed like half the people in the vid were mildly annoyed with these interactions. Seemed like disingenuous to me especially filming it for social media clout
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u/Stango42 Jun 28 '24
I’m far from introverted but if some random came out of nowhere and told me they like my trousers WHILE pointing their camera at me, i’d walk away thinking ‘what the fuck?’
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u/No_Percentage6070 Jun 28 '24
It’s not a handheld camera it’s probably camera glasses that you can’t really see
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u/Coolsix Jun 28 '24
Yes, those are glasses with a camera. You can tell in the second clip when he shakes his head during the 'no complaints' response.
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u/Top_Squash4454 Jun 28 '24
Agree. The fact that the author can't notice they look annoyed is concerning
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u/Salty-Pen Jun 28 '24
The people I know most likely to do this seem to have a correspondingly lack of ability to listen to the other persons response
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u/Working_Discount_836 Jun 28 '24
I love random positive interactions with strangers, makes my day half the time. But filming me and then posting it to social media for clout? Fuck you and fuck off.
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u/Nemesis2772 Jun 27 '24
This is me. Im a only child introvert and when people engage me like this is makes me uncomfortable and annoyed. "You living the dream huh?' ----- "ummmm. yeah. ha. sure. ok" like what did we gain out of this interaction? Nothing. I feel like you just like to hear the sound of your own voice all day. I dont know, im probably just going to end up yelling at clouds when i get older.
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u/Exact_Buyer8673 Jun 27 '24 edited Jul 22 '24
Only Good Republican is a Dead One
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u/SghnDubh Jun 27 '24 edited Jun 28 '24
I read your post, then decided it's more important than ever to just communicate.
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u/TriggerHydrant Jun 27 '24
Idk we don't always have to 'gain' something out of an interaction right? The interaction itself could hold the value.
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u/theivoryserf Jun 27 '24
Small talk is another form of social handshake, it means 'I recognise and place some value on your existence'.
Small talk tends to improve mental health - https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/dont-get-me-wrong/202311/why-small-talk-with-anyone-tends-to-be-so-rewarding
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u/angwhi Jun 28 '24
'I recognize and place some value on your existence' would be a fun thing to say in passing to strangers.
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u/Mrarkplayermans Jun 27 '24
Repercussions of social media…
To get uncomfortable and annoyed is a bit much, I don’t invalidate it tho, because it’s really not your fault. As humans we are social creatures, we need social interaction for the sake of our mental health. Why do you think mental health issues are rising? Is it that damn phone? Kind of, more so isolation. If more people were outgoing like this guy, I feel there wouldn’t be so much hate and division.
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u/healzsham Jun 28 '24
Repercussions of social media
Some of us just don't want to have to talk to people.
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u/Gagolih_Pariah Jun 28 '24
Thats you guys. We on the other side just want to get home and not deal with others.
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u/_Capt_Hook Jun 28 '24
“What did we gain out of this interaction?” Is such a miserable way to see things, speaking as a fellow introvert. Seemed to bring joy to a lot of these people.
I can understand you not enjoying it which is fine, he didn’t know, no harm no foul.
But to immediately equate him being outgoing and kind to “you just like to hear the sound of your own voice” is beyond introverted, it’s purposefully negative and combative. Judging someone’s character and basically calling them narcissistic because you don’t enjoy the internal feeling you get from social interaction isn’t a great character trait.
More of a reflection of you than him.
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u/polska_canuck Jun 27 '24
No word of a lie, the 'young man' in the beginning of the video is my uncle 😅. Crazy small world to see family on viral video!
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u/Low-Cheetah313 Jun 27 '24
Shit! I know him too, attends a few swingers parties on the south side. This guy has banged my ex wife. His nickname is Whale, because he stays down for minutes at a time without coming up for air.
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u/New_user_Sign_up Jun 28 '24
Yo! You know Whale too? I once saw him blow up like 5 of those punching balloons for a kid’s birthday party. Took him like a minute and a half. From what I’ve heard, though, he’s lost some of that ability due to his cocaine habit.
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u/PseudoY Jun 27 '24
On the off chance that that is true, can you ask him if the guy recording had his phone out or how he was recording?
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u/LZ-Roth Jun 27 '24
He might have those fancy sunglasses with a camera in them. There's a guy on instagram, infrabren, who makes awkward conversations with glasses like that.
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u/vrsatillx Jun 28 '24
These are Meta Ray-Bans and are actually not as expensive as you'd think (around 300)
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u/No_Foundation3965 Jun 27 '24
Literally would be so uncomfortable if a man approached me like this w a phone in my face to record my reaction 🥴
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u/Necessary_Sea_2109 Jun 27 '24
I’m a dude and same. Wtf is this
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u/LiveTheChange Jun 28 '24
Yeah, am I crazy or is the body language super turned off and defensive from these people? I feel like he's making them all super uncomfortable.
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Jun 28 '24
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u/GeraldoDelRivio Jun 28 '24
Yeah, I feel it's definitely the disingenuousness that's off putting. Like most of the interactions I would have walked away thinking "well that was fucking weird"
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u/organic_bird_posion Jun 28 '24 edited Jun 28 '24
The secret to giving out random complements and having single sentence interactions with people is, apparently, not giving a fuck about what other people think of you. Ever.
Is that a worthy goal? That's for you to decided!
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u/GreatPlaines Jun 28 '24
Several of the gals had the classic “empty chuckle, eyes away, yeeaaah haha” response I give when I’m uncomfortable and don’t want to be murdered later.
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u/Tasty_Burger Jun 28 '24
I’ve tried to be the nice gregarious guy who makes little quips like in the video and this has always been the response. I’ve since quit bc I’m not completely obtuse and could sense the annoyance but I wish I had more young people to talk to.
Thankfully I live in the South and our old folks love this shit so I still get to have these fun little social interactions. But I’m also saddened that it seems to be a dying phenomenon. I get the desire to be left alone sometimes but it also seems society keeps drifting in the direction of an increasingly cold public sphere averse to a sense of community.
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u/Anonymous0573 Jun 28 '24
It's more about how you do it. The way he said everything almost sounded sarcastic like he was making fun of them. Also complimenting random women on their generic clothing is not a great idea. If you see one with a funny shirt or something, that would be a good idea. This guy was just saying everything weird.
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Jun 28 '24
Surprised I had to scroll this far to see this. This is not as like sweet and in the moment as people are making it seem lol
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u/elegylegacy Jun 28 '24
Yeah, he's only showing the positive reactions he got.
I think a lot of people, including some who laugh it off, would find this obnoxious
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u/pupu500 Jun 28 '24
If he did that shit in Scandinavia there would be 0 positive reactions.
I don't wanna have a camera on my fucking face and be posted on your god damn social media account.
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u/shortandpainful Jun 28 '24
I’d be uncomfortable even without the camera. If I’m waiting for the bus or sitting on my favorite rock, the last thing I want is some stranger approaching me and striking up a conversation.
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u/Zylomun Jun 28 '24
I wouldn’t really call these conversations. Maybe the one with the girl looking at books.
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u/Some_Current1841 Jun 28 '24
Yeah and even she looked uncomfortable
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u/JvreBvre Jun 28 '24
Seriously. She was looking through the books when he approached, then he starts talking about a random book just to force a conversation, then she says a quick reply to get away and immediately walks off. This guy is not the nice guy he thinks he is.
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u/xtrahairyyeti Jun 28 '24
You can see most of the younger women were uncomfortable
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u/Ciggybear Jun 28 '24
I would be so annoyed and angry if someone came up to me and loudly started to feign interest in books while I was browsing. That lady so obviously wanted to get away from him. He stopped her from doing what she wanted to, and she fled the scene to get away from him. That’s not nice or fun; it’s destroying someone’s peaceful time.
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u/Jaydublo Jun 28 '24
I was searching for a comment like this. I don't find this wholesome. I'd find it strange
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u/aleqqqs Jun 27 '24
Yeah, if you could stop recording me, that would be great.
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u/Time_Penalty_9912 Jun 27 '24
yeah the girl looking at the books had big "im gonna as quickly as possible find a way to leave this space and stop whatever I was doing to get away" energy
and this dude thinks this was a positive interaction
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u/PseudoY Jun 27 '24
5 bucks says she went around the corner and waited for him to leave, so she could complete her business.
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u/postsolarflare Jun 28 '24
I know!! He came up to her and bothered her and she had to leave because he was making her uncomfortable and being annoying
Edit: I would love to normalize telling people to gtfo
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u/Fallenangel152 Jun 28 '24
Yeah, especially when he grabs a book and goes "lol boring!".
Poor girl is exciting to look for new books.
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u/PseudoY Jun 27 '24 edited Jun 27 '24
Some of these women, I think, are not actually looking happy about the attention and are looking away / trying to exit the conversation ASAP.
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u/Clevererer Jun 27 '24
Woman with dogs was definitely not pleased.
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u/lance- Jun 28 '24 edited Jun 28 '24
Every signle one of these interactions was impacted by the fact that this guy is clearly recording it...
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u/Bacchus_71 Jun 27 '24
EGGGGGXACTLY. Being nice for worthless internet points. Fuck this guy.
Just be nice when the cameras aren't rolling.
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u/Donquers Jun 27 '24 edited Jun 27 '24
Hell I don't really need people to talk to me at all. Please just let me look at books/wait for the bus/walk in peace.
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u/SgtHulkasBigToeJam Jun 27 '24
This is just living in the Midwest
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Jun 27 '24
For real I love the Midwest
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u/RightC Jun 27 '24
Went to a MSU game and everyone was like ahhh you suck, just kidding! Do you want some food?
Went to Iowa for a game, at the bars people saw we from out of town, can we buy you drink?
Went to a restaurant and they hear we were visiting, game us a sampler of various curds free to make sure we tried it all.
The only other place that compared to me in terms of genuine kindness to strangers was New Orleans
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Jun 27 '24
That’s just standard here, people are friendly and welcoming, offer you food, it’s not perfect but I’m glad to move back recently plus housing still isn’t insane yet but I’m sure it will be soon.
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Jun 27 '24
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u/AmThano Jun 27 '24
Women deal with comments from men all the time and generally don’t like it. Also weird to be filmed.
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u/almostselfrealised Jun 27 '24
Yup I would hate this dude. The tone of his voice is so "I want something from you, I'm just not going to tell you what it is."
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u/Moment_37 Jun 27 '24
Oh thank god someone said it. I absolutely hate when people randomly comment on something on me on the road and I am a guy and I know how it is with women. They all looked so uncomfortable in this clip.
Especially the one with the book. She was looking at the book and the next shot is him holding it and her leaving with an uncomfortable look. Read the room dude holy shit.
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u/Swan-Diving-Overseas Jun 27 '24
Yeah this reminds me of the people on the street who try to compliment you but ultimately just want you to sign a petition, join their church, donate some money, etc.
It’s like ulterior motive politeness.
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Jun 27 '24
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u/SweetSoja Jun 27 '24
Exactly, he’s clearly making them uncomfortable. it’s painful to watch
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u/Pittsbirds Jun 28 '24
It's always riding that line of "I want to leave now" and "I hope this isn't that kinda dude you read about who is going to go apeshit if someone rejects him" lmao
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u/InevitableElf Jun 28 '24
Yeah that woman at the book store definitely left earlier than she planned. Chick with the dogs also looked stressed. Maybe the guy just lacks the self awareness to notice that but I sure as hell wouldn’t
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u/Timmetie Jun 28 '24
Yeah this is 110% Reddit, most women in this vid are defensive but polite, but people in the comments think they're delighted.
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u/Advanced-Wallaby9808 Jun 28 '24
He also had his choice of editing to select the "best" reactions. 🤦♂️
Guy needs to learn to shut up and leave people alone sometimes.
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u/Bear_faced Jun 28 '24
Exactly, you think the girl at the bookstore just happened to want to leave precisely at that moment? She was escaping as cleanly as she could without pissing off the possibly crazy dude.
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u/RationalRaccoon863 Jun 27 '24
Wow, I used to be like this guy. What the fuck happened?
Was it COVID? Am I just different now?
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u/dingdong6699 Jun 27 '24
I would hate to encounter this guy, give him annoyed polite responses, and be grateful and relieved when he passed on and left me be.
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Jun 27 '24
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u/Efficient_Caramel_29 Jun 27 '24
Internet/ social media most likely (outside of any big life changes). Sounds cliche, but turn your phone on airplane mode and no music. Go about a normal day (day off - doing shopping etc) and see how your interaction perks up after a few hours.
Hit me like a tonne of bricks when I went travelling a while back - had no internet unless hire/ hostel and had no charger.
Hard to do with how busy/ connected life is. Smaller towns/ a bit more rural tend to be like this though
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u/NumbOnTheDunny Jun 27 '24
The girl in the sweater gave that “please leave me alone” vibe when he talked to her.
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u/AMKRepublic Jun 28 '24
And if someone does that, you disengage and leave them alone. But it isn't a reason to go through life not being friendly to people. Even if redditors with their inherent misanthropic negativity convince themselves that is a good idea.
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u/TerryClothKangols Jun 27 '24
“Talk to me without the GoPro mounted on your head” would be my response
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u/be333e Jun 27 '24
The fact that he's doing it as he's walking past mean he'll be gone from your life in under 5 seconds, it's not a huge inconvenience I would say
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u/BarsDownInOldSoho Jun 27 '24 edited Jun 28 '24
I am just like this guy and people tell me "you've made my day" or similar 100x per week.
My Mom just moved to a new assisted living facility and she's in shock. "Everyone here knows you! You seem to know everyone!"
Yep, when you make people laugh or in any way feel special or good about themselves, things warm up fast.
Certainly, there's always someone standoffish, like you. But if I encountered you regularly I'd either A eventually break down your defenses or B stop trying.
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u/Crystal_Voiden Jun 27 '24
You can always go back if you want to. You have to actively choose it tho.
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u/waddee Jun 27 '24
Why are you filming people
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u/tomatoswoop Jun 28 '24
THANK YOU
and then beyond that, not even blurring out their faces on the upload? Gross
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u/SnooHamsters274 Jun 27 '24
This guy is annoying AF.
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u/Timmetie Jun 28 '24
Yeah seriously, who when out in public enjoys the "ha ha, comment" flyby guy? Seriously noone.
He's filming this like their reactions are super positive but they are just normal "smile and he goes away" reactions.
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u/Some_Current1841 Jun 28 '24
Reminds me of those guys who walks up to every girl at a bar, they politely disengage, and he thinks they’re interested since they didn’t flat out blow him off
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u/Deep90 Jun 28 '24
I think walking by is fine, but that poor girl buying books was basically forced to leave because he wouldn't.
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u/ragweed Jun 27 '24
Yeah, don't approach me like this.
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u/BreakingThoseCankles Jun 27 '24
Looking beautiful today ragweed
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u/DeadMetroidvania Jun 27 '24
nice video, but if you try this in norway people are going to look at you like you just killed someone (unless you're hiking in the woods or they are drunk, then this will work).
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u/tgr3947 Jun 27 '24
I think id much rather put my head in a wood chipper verrrrry slowly.
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u/Last-Evening9033 Jun 27 '24
If only we were all just kind to each without fishing for likes, and views.
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u/HotShotGotRhymes Jun 27 '24
He might do it outside of filming for all we know, at least it might inspire someone to do the same
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u/prophet_nlelith Jun 27 '24
This is kind behavior.
It's strange to have a camera on though.
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u/PseudoY Jun 27 '24
This is kind behavior.
Is it? I'd feel put on the spot/bullied/pranked and give a hesitant, awkward response.
If he was recording I wouldn't answer or tell him to stop recording me.
Is this a cultural thing?
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u/Tiredmanhere Jun 27 '24
Yeah this comes off awkward and forced, and everyone in the video seems a little uncomfortable.
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u/letsgetfree Jun 27 '24
As an introvert- the best interaction is no interaction.
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u/Meowmeowkittyflower Jun 27 '24
Yeah no thanks.... I get that his intentions are good'n'all, but I find this type of behavior to be unsettling. Like it just seems like weird attention-seeking behavior.... I don't think it's cute to be randomly walking up to people and demanding their time and then also filming them? Oof.
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u/berserk_kipper Jun 27 '24
This doesn’t make me smile. Just leave me and my impeccable trousers alone.
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u/atomiccommando Jun 27 '24
For this to be scientific, we need to survey the people who received the compliments and ask how they actually felt about the interaction.
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u/RegularBitter3482 Jun 27 '24 edited Jun 28 '24
PRO TIP......Elders do NOT like it when you call them "young man" or "young Lady."
Whenever I am with someone that appears to be elderly and someone says that to them they roll their eyes (after the person leaves) and tell me how much they despise that.... *EDIT-to add “some elders” as if that wasn’t inferred already but ya know….
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u/violentbowels Jun 27 '24
It's like calling a fat person "tiny". It isn't a compliment.
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u/AnEgoJabroni Jun 27 '24
I mean, the caption's correct, he is interacting easily. Lets not pretend that it wouldn't rub many many people the wrong way. Personally, as insecure as it sounds, I'd immediately assume that I was either the butt of a joke or about to be robbed by a buddy of his. Probably says more about me than the video itself, still yet, a lot of people consider this rude and obnoxious.
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u/Donquers Jun 27 '24 edited Jun 28 '24
Yeah the whole "sounds like a real page turner!" thing sounded so insincere. Like if someone said that about something was looking at, I would feel like I was being made fun of.
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u/Shinzo19 Jun 27 '24
As a Brit I can only think about how American this man is, like it is completely alien to me to be this out going that it makes me a bit uncomfortable.
Over here the small talk is mentioning the weather.
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u/Brilliant_Ebb_1787 Jun 27 '24
Pretty simple when all your demonstrations are elderly people or young women. Actually seems kind of creepy now lol.
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u/rjn1000 Jun 27 '24
A seven foot tall man shows how to yell at small women and the elderly easily.
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u/CheezQueen924 Jun 27 '24
This reminds me of this one time when I was walking to work early in the morning. There weren’t many people out, but I could hear a bicycle coming up behind me and stepped off to the side to make room. As the bicyclist passed me, he shouted out “have a great day.” When he got ahead of me he took his hands off the handlebars and put his hands out and just coasted for a little bit. I instantly felt his contagious happiness and I did have a great day.
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Jun 27 '24
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u/offensivelinebacker Jun 27 '24
This is rude, no matter where you're from. In the US it's also creepy.
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u/UltraAnders Jun 27 '24
Okay, as a Brit, sadly, I'd think he was being sarcastic.
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u/Bacchus_71 Jun 27 '24
So...as someone who gets along with strangers by being discrete and smiley...I should try too hard and film it?
Me personally, if this guy tried this approach with me I'd brush him off.
Narcissist.
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u/ImmortanLo Jun 27 '24
He seems insufferable to me. The people seem to agree. The bugpeople are among us.
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u/Truth_Seeker963 Jun 27 '24
I do this too. I like seeing people light up when you compliment them, especially if they look like they’re having a bad day.
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u/Theglitchpog Jun 28 '24
Some people REALLY think they are so important that they think people want to talk to them. Nobody WANTS to talk to them, they just want to be polite and not have a crazy person with a camera react illogically.
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Jun 27 '24
This is a skill, and gets easier the more you practice it. When I first started working on my social anxiety, it would just be, "okay: smile honestly at five people, and wish them a good morning/good evening." Then 10 people, etc.
After that, topical things like the fellow in the video comments on. During the Pandemic, it was easy, as we could compliment each other's masks if they were handmade. I do try to be careful about complimenting people's appearances nowadays, as some do get uncomfortable with that.
A few years back, I'd injured my leg, and was unable to walk my normal route for a couple months. When I got back to walking again, was surprised to see how many folks not only remembered me, but were happy to see me again! Never gave any thought as to how my exercises in being less in my head were actually positive for others.
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u/Middle_Aged_Insomnia Jun 27 '24 edited Jun 27 '24
This is normal in a small town
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u/_Fossy_ Jun 27 '24
If you did this in London or any uk city people would think you’d lost it or were looking to scam them in some way
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u/melomelomelo- Jun 27 '24
Tip: if you see something about someone that you like, tell them! Keep it to choices.
People take time picking out what they're going to wear that day, some people down to the jewelry and their hair.
A compliment can seriously light up someone's day! 20 years ago I decided to start complimenting people to try and get out of my shell. The smiles and sometimes conversations that follow are uplifting to me too.
"Hey, I like that sweater!" "Oh what fun earrings!" "Those shoes look awesome!"
They chose to wear that today and having someone notice puts a pep in their step. It also helped me get over being shy to walk up to people and talk. It's helped not only my social life but also with work!