Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell

2023-12-04 1 min read Sincheenz

I did not know what to expect from this book, and once again, without reading into the reviews, I went ahead and purchased it. It was not what I expected it to be, but I liked it very much. I thought it was a behavioral psychology book. It does dwell into human behavior and psychology, but presents it differently and brilliantly.

This is a book about communication and miscommunication. The book discusses why and how information can get misinterpreted and misunderstood. It starts off by describing how a regular traffic stop for failing to signal leads to an arrest and eventually results in the convicted driver committing suicide. Simple situations can end up tragically when actions and words are misinterpreted. The book also explores how we can get conditioned through media and movies to interpret a certain set of facial expressions and reactions, and how this can be misleading in different cultures. It also emphasizes the importance of pausing before making a judgment and trying to study the behavior of the other party before drawing conclusions from a conversation.

It has been a very interesting read and I think it helps you open up,approach and talk to strangers, as well as your dear ones, in daily situations differently.