It happens all too often that we miss so many wonderful opportunities to truly, deeply connect with those around us. Of course, an ongoing list of factors could be comprised, but of those factors lie three aspects that go hand-in-hand as to what makes a successful connection between people.
Conversation.
Well, what did you think? Your vigorous head nodding and ambiguous facial expressions are not nearly enough to be picked up by someone else's intellectual radar. Please engage yourself by means of verbal expression. Get out of your comfort zone. Exchange words with another human being. Get to know who you are sharing the same general space bubble with. Even if it's a situation involving you not wanting to be mentally and physically present, someone in proximity to you is likely to feel the same way, but of course, you wouldn't know that unless you've actually talked to the person.
Meaningfulness.
There's a reason that today's society regards the "So uh, nice weather we're having today" icebreaker with ridicule as it seems to be anything but an icebreaker for those awkward pauses in a conversation—it simply is not meaningful whatsoever. So, why is it that many of us can't help but resort to striking up small talk instead of genuine strands of, say, what is really on our minds? Sure, we could put our blame on the circumstances of a single instance every time it happens, but I really think a large part of the issue arises from our acquirement of interpersonal communicative skills, or, lack thereof, in today's learning environment. From a young age, seemingly all of us are taught to swallow our ideas until we are individually chosen to speak. Unfortunately, that leads to many never getting a chance to share what had gotten them so fired up to speak and raise their hands in the first place, thus, lowering their self-confidence. From there, it becomes a despondent cycle of feeling like there is no point in putting effort into a meaningful expression when and if the time comes to share one's thoughts. This cycle needs to be broken and we must be willing to regain confidence in our intellectual capacity. We each have one life. We should not speak empty words, spending our time on empty ideas.
Initiation.
How wonderful it is to realize what we each are capable of thinking and to build upon that realization by initiating a meaningful conversation with another human being. Let's say you were the one brave enough to welcome people to truly communicate with you, just imagine the potential positive influence you could have if even one other person recognized the benefits of doing so and paid it forward. Being the person to get the ball rolling proves to be no easy feat when other people are too nervous to even make eye-contact with anyone else, but the ability to take a stand and invite someone to exchange significant thoughts crafted by each other's unique mind is definitely one worth acquiring no matter where you are at in life. I encourage you to be the starter of a great conversation.
So, there you have it. These are what I believe to be three crucial aspects of what makes a successful human connection. I believe that the importance of these aspects on a societal level is profound because as we continue to progress in a world of technology, our proficiency in interpersonal communication seemingly continues to deteriorate. To some, that may be enough to trigger an internal warning signal, but to others I might have to expand a bit more: we are each blessed with our own unique human experience and each of those experiences deserve a balance between physically manifested innovation such as the world of industry, and phenomena that derives from our very roots of being human, such as genuine connections between one another.
Without those authentic, humanly connections, what are we? I should point out that even though it may seem weak and insignificant to merely suggest an individualized call-to-action, I believe that it is what is best in the context of how complex our society is. One cannot force ideas onto another and expect him/her to agree completely, but when one peacefully raises awareness to what one thinks to be ailing the well-being of others (in genuine concern for those others) is perhaps when people are more open to ideas.
