Talking to Strangers — Happy To Talk Launch in John Lewis
On a very very chilly Wednesday evening this 4th December 2019, I headed to the John Lewis Sloane Square store… not to make a start on Christmas shopping, but to support Chris Zair in sharing the Happy to Talk campaign with JL customers and staff.
I say this so very often, but the best thing Run Talk Run has brought to my world, is the PEOPLE (like Chris and tonight meeting Lisa from Papyrus) who really give a shit about the same things that I do. Who really want to get people talking and supporting each other.
So what is Happy to Talk?
It is a social movement, encouraging people to talk on London’s public transport. Instead of sticking your earphones in and shutting the world out, Happy to Talk is about inviting connection in. It is about acknowledging the people around you, sharing a smile, giving a nod to a passerby. In a world that is so digitally connected, we appear to have lost the art of offline connection. Happy to Talk is the counter to that.
I wrote a post about why it is important to talk to strangers a little while ago, which gives more depth to the HTT campaign.
John Lewis Sloane Square are now stocking the badges to assist us in spreading the word about talking to strangers and creating a more connected London!
IT DOESN’T GET EASIER…
but it is always always always worth speaking in public not just about RTR and what we are doing, supporting our peers on our weekly runs… but actually to talk about my own journey TO creating Run Talk Run in the first place.
My voice cracked and my hands shook this evening as I tried to sputter something coherent about running and talking. Truth be told, I still get very emotional. It all means so much to me. I’ve accepted that this is all part of the public speaking experience for me and I won’t let it stop me continuing to talk.
SO, thank you Happy to Talk for supporting our amazing community. (£2 of every sale of a HTT badge is donated to RTR). You can buy your badge directly through the Happy to Talk website, or in the John Lewis Sloane Square store.
