A show of interest, as with every other principle of human relations, must be sincere. It must pay off not only for the person showing the interest, but for the person receiving the attention. It is a two-way street—both parties benefit.
In the beginning of March of 2013, I was planning a trip to Sedona, Arizona with one of my best friends. Now, leading up to the trip was a series of conversations that could’ve posed a threat on our potential trip – given the fact that an apparent storm was heading our way.
Push came to shove….the day of the flight, I was at the airport and the woman asked me, “would you like to leave now? We have an available slot.” Because my friend was coming in from a different county, I didn’t want to camp out at Sky Harbour International Airport for an extra two hours – so I declined.
MISTAKE!
At McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, there’s a terminal that has glass floor-to-ceiling windows 360 degrees. When the storm came, about 1.5 hours later, everyone looked in awe and I started hyperventilating. Just before that, my friend called me shouting saying, “ice cubes are falling from the sky, Arsenio!” I was terrified. There was a hailstorm in Phoenix and a rain storm in Las Vegas. While I was sitting there, I saw a group of people joking with green, glittery hats and a green suit. I realized it was St. Patricks Day (or at least around the day) and these people were going back home after one of those “vegas” trips.
We finally boarded the plane and I was getting even more scared because of the anticipated turbulence. Oh, did I mention I mention the window seat? FML!
Then, an African American woman sat down next to me and with a country accent said, “how you doing today?” That worry began to dissipate and she saw that I was under distress. She calmed me down, allowed me to talk for an hour, and anytime I brought up the turbulence, she literally shot it down.
Her words were, “hey, you’re going to get to Phoenix and go to Sedona, Arizona. You’re going to have a wonderful time!”
We ended up making it and it was one of the best trips of my life.
She had a genuine, heart-felt interest in me because she cared. That was one of the most remarkable moments of my life.
If you want others to like you, if you want to develop real friendships, if you want to help others at the same time as you help yourself, keep this principle in mind:
Arsenio's ESL Podcast 
Leave a Reply