Remember when we were able to go to parties and have fun with our friends? Seems like a long time ago, right? I know. But one day, this will come back (and it’s back!! Weeeeee!!) 🙌🥳

However, besides all the fun and joy that gatherings can bring to us, there is one thing that kind of scared me - meeting new people and having to talk to them for the first time (I know, if you know me, you probably didn't know about that? 🤣).

For some people, this is not a problem at all. They always have something to say, and usually, it's something friendly and fun!

They always find a way to avoid that awkward silence when everyone starts to stare at the floor (or the ceiling 😅).

And it does not matter how much you try to avoid the possibility or the need to meet or engage with new people. It will always happen!

It can happen at your work, the gym, and at the scariest place of all - the elevator!!😱

For our luck, most of us follow the implicit rule of never engaging in a conversation in the elevator. But you will always find someone that breaks this rule, and then time kind of stops, and it feels like it's taking an hour to get to your floor (even if it's only the second floor 😭).

I don't mean to create any panic, ok? I just want to point out that these situations happen more often than we realize. So the big question is - how do we deal with them?

I would say we deal with that like any other thing in life. We understand what's happening, find a way to solve it, and then practice a lot until we learn. Sounds simple in theory, right? 😜

Now you're probably thinking - how is ballroom dancing going to help me with that?

Well, just to start, remember one simple thing - In ballroom dancing we don't dance by ourselves, we have someone with us the whole time! Voilá! 💃🕺

And now you're even more scared, right? 😆.

You're probably thinking something like - "I don't want to be interacting with someone I don't know." But here is the secret - you don't need to be talking all the time because you're dancing! (You can talk if you want (and believe me (or not 🤪) it's quite hard to do both at the same time, especially on a crowded floor).

You will have a chance to practice a lot on how to interact with new people every time you invite someone or get invited to dance. And because you're both there in one place to engage in a specific activity, it's for sure that you already have something in common! 😉

Besides that, you can start with baby steps (like you did/will do with your dancing). Just say "Hi" and invite the person for a dance.

You don't need an entire speech or a sales pitch for that. And little by little, you can start adding more words to that "small talk." And one day, you might realize that "monster" 👹 is not that big anymore.

Keep dancing and creating fantastic first interactions!

Big hugs!