Too Close for Comfort
Dear Ms. Prim,
Yeah, this is a weird question I've been wondering. What exactly are you supposed to do if you're alone with one other person in an elevator? I mean, is it better to initiate small talk or keep quiet? If it is better to initiate small talk, what's some good small talk to engage in? I'm asking this because it always feels so awkward to be alone with someone in an elevator no matter what I do. I'd love your advice.
-drplatonist223
Dear Doc,
Sweetheart, don't feel bad. This question isn't weird at all. There are a lot of situations where we all feel a little awkward and just don't know how to react. I actually got a similar question a little while ago from a darling friend who was curious how to act when you pee next to someone in a men's restroom stall. Strangely enough, you're elevator situation is a similar case.
Anyway, sugar, I'm actually a firm believer that small talk is a great thing to do in an elevator. I find that interesting people are around us all the time and we just don't know it. You never know what you might pick up from a conversation with a stranger. It's a great way to pass a couple of minutes, and who knows, honey, a short conversation might turn into something much more special.
Who was it that once said, "Strangers are just friend you haven't met"? I've met two of my past loves on an elevator. A few minutes of conversation turned into a night of laughs which then turned into a few months of bliss. (Of course, those few months of bliss ended and turned into a bunch of lonely nights eating Ben and Jerry's while watching The Golden Girls, but let's forget about that.) The moral of the story is that something really good can come from a random conversation on an elevator.
As for some good small talk topics, I would suggest simple, innocent things. You know, the weather, traffic, how far away his place is - that last one's a joke - unless he's cute. Really, small talk topics should be things that no one really cares about. They're really just starter topics that people use as springboards to things they actually care about. Being that elevator rides are usually only a couple minutes long, you want to talk about something that the other person will get tired of talking about almost as soon as it's out of your mouth so you can get to the juicy stuff.
Anyway, that's my advice. Oh, and don't feel awkward, honey. Awkwardness is just self-consciousness, and honey, I'm sure you have nothing to be self-conscious about.
Yours Fabulously,
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