On a recent morning walk, I saw two people folding up moving blankets at the back of an empty U-Haul truck.
“Welcome to the neighborhood!” I called from across the street.
They looked up and I got the feeling they’d be open to chatting, so I walked over and introduced myself.
It’s easier to connect with people in transition.
Studies bear this out, but we’ve probably experienced it our own lives:
When we’re in new situations—whether because we’re traveling, have started a new job, moved homes or are returning home from the hospital—we lose our bearings a little or a lot and that feeling makes us more open to help.
Anyway, the neighborhood newcomers were a young couple who’d just arrived from Florida. In the course of our chatting, the husband asked me the name of the gas company and how they could get a trash can.
Because I carry pen and paper, which is another tip I’ve shared for creating connections, I could write down information for them and decided to include my name and phone number.
As I handed the husband a page ripped from my small notebook, I mentioned that I’d included my personal contact details.
The wife made a noise that was music to my ears:
She let out a sigh of relief, or it could have been a small expression of delight. Whatever it was, it communicated that she very much welcomed my effort to be welcoming.
In that small exchange, I don’t know who benefited more: the couple for having met someone willing to help however she could, or me for getting immediate feedback that my tiny gesture mattered to someone.
So the couple haven’t contacted me but that’s not the point.
The point is to start a ripple effect of making people feel welcomed.
Maybe I’m overly hopeful, but I have to believe that if the couple sees other people moving in nearby, that they’ll take a minute to say hello even if they don’t offer a way for the people to get in touch.
My former neighbor said that my welcoming him and his wife to the building where we lived made their decision to move there feel exciting and justified.
That is the power of making the small gesture of saying welcome.
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