When Dr. Suess unveiled Oh, the Places You’ll Go … I wondered when he was going to come out with the sequel Oh, the People You’ll Meet.

Lord knows I can’t go anywhere without meeting someone.  It’s mandatory I make a friend wherever I go.  At least that’s my goal anyway.  I think I missed my calling as a sociologist because I’m often mesmerized at human interaction.

Just this weekend I hung out with an acquaintance I was trying to get to know better.  He was plied with caffeine, which often doubles as a truth serum for the average American.  Three times he asked, “Am I rambling? I’m not rambling am I?  If I’m rambling, you’d tell me, right?”

That answer would be an unequivocal no.

Silence is golden.  People hate lulls in the conversation, so inevitably they just keep talking.  I learn more things that way.  (People divulge WAY too much too.  My favorite thus far?  “I feel like I can tell you about my sister’s abortion.”)  I gleaned that fine art of listening from my good friend Jill Farmer.  She was a reporter with a nose for news and now she’s a mom with ears of steel.  She’ll ask a few questions, dialogue will start flowing and then she’ll shut the hell up.  Even when I ask her a pointed question like, “How are your kids?”, she’ll respond, “Great, how are yours?”  Next thing you know I’m talking about kids I know … that aren’t even mine.

I’ll be at least 20 minutes in to a soliloquy on my neighbor’s bratty children before I realize that she’s, once again, segued the conversation away from her.  It’s brilliant.  She should have been a therapist.

I met a flight attendant this weekend that toils mercilessly for Jet Blue.  Once I found that out I could not stop asking questions about Stephen Slater.  (He chutes, he scores!)  The infamous Slater has given Jet Blue an impressive amount of press lately, so I wanted to know all the behind-the-scenes scuttlebutt.  Word on the street is the woman who clobbered Slater with her overhead bag is allegedly a U.S. Senator … or Congresswoman … or corporate CEO … or something.   This is a bigger cover-up than Watergate, I swear.

It’s also the kind of dirt you just can’t get in USA Today.

Next time you’re trying to get to know someone … shut up for five minutes and see what transpires.  Being quiet and simply nodding is powerful tool.  I’ll guarantee you’ll get some nugget of info that you can write about in your blog for both your readers to savor.  Guarantee!