So, Nick, let me start with this.
When is the last time you cried in front of another person?
Starting right away at the top.
I see.
Last time I cried in front of another person was actually just a few days ago when my wife showed me a video of our daughter in her second grade class reading her favorite book to her classmates.
This is Nick Epley, a professor of psychology at the University of Chicago.
And the reason I'm asking him this question is because he himself has forced thousands of strangers to sit down and ask and answer this question of each other.
And what he's found is pretty interesting.
Imagine, for example, that you're on an airplane and the stranger next to you turns to you and they ask you, when's the last time you cried in front of another person?
How do you think you'd feel at that moment?
My guess is probably a little apprehensive right now.
Imagine I told you that you have to be that stranger asking someone else that question.
How would you feel then?
Terrified, probably.
But my goal over the next 30 minutes is to show you why asking this kind of question is actually a great idea.
I want to convince you that you should be asking these kinds of questions to your co workers, to your family members, to the strangers that you meet on the street.
I'm Charles Duhigg, former host of Slate's how to Podcast and the author of how to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection.
And this is the first episode in a three part special series that looks at the science of communication.
We're going to explore how to have better conversations, the neuroscience behind how we connect with each other, and why some people can connect with nearly anyone.
Which brings us back to Nick Epley, the guy who likes to ask people about the last time they cried in front of another person.