Why you should talk to strangers on your next holiday

Annette Jones loves travelling. The 62-year-old relishes the chance to experience new things, taste different cuisines and see how locals live. But she also loves meeting new people along the way.

Jones is currently on a caravanning trip around Australia with her partner. Though she’s seen “beautiful places and sunsets”, Jones says the best part of her trip has been the people she’s met.

She finds conversations with strangers enriching, providing her with insights and fresh perspectives on life. “It’s always good to have a yarn to a local because they’ll tell you the best place to go and see,” says Jones, who is writing about her travels on her blog, All Around Oz.

Jones also enjoys chatting to her fellow travellers about their journeys. “It’s great because you can swap information,” she says. “If they’re heading south and you’ve just come from south, you can help them out with information, and vice versa.”

While it’s important to consider safety when talking to strangers, psychologist Sharon Draper says shooting the breeze with someone new can boost your confidence and broaden your thinking as you gain new perspectives on life.

“Storytelling engages our brains much more than reading facts about a place.”

PSYCHOLOGIST SHARON DRAPER

Draper confirms that chatting to locals is likely to give you a “much richer experience” as you learn things about a place that can’t be found in a travel guide or online. But more importantly, says Draper, “storytelling engages our brains much more than reading facts about a place”. As a bonus, striking up conversations with fellow travellers gives you a greater sense of belonging.

Jones says the best way to engage with fellow travellers is just with “a smile and a wave”. That way you can sense whether someone is up for banter or whether they’d prefer some space. Don’t be disheartened if it’s the latter. When you come across a like-minded individual wanting to natter, Jones says conversation is likely to flow.

Sometimes, it even snowballs into a lasting relationship. Jones has struck up numerous friendships through travel, the longest starting 37 years ago when she met Anne, an Irish woman, while travelling in Zimbabwe. From a casual chat the pair felt an “instant connection” and a lifelong friendship was born.