What did the plate say to the second plate?
“What did the first plate say to the second plate? Dinner’s on me!”
Our shuttle driver cracked up at his bad joke. 7 passengers crammed into the back, fresh off of a five hour flight, laughed out of exhaustion.
His effort was greatly appreciated. We were tired, and he was passing the time on the final leg of our trip, from the airport to the hotel.
“Okay, another one: Why did the man get fired from the orange juice factory? He had a lack of concentration!”
“Oh, groan!” said the middle-aged woman in front of me. We all laughed again.
“Here’s another one!”
Wait, seriously?
Staying Present
What started out as cute quickly became schtick. Eventually we stopped laughing, but he wasn’t listening. He kept telling bad joke after bad joke until we arrived at the hotel.
Memorizing conversation starters isn’t necessarily bad practice. But to connect we must go beyond. Stay present. Ask meaningful and relevant questions. Engage fully.
On the first joke we really appreciated what he was doing for us, lightening the mood and passing the time. By the third joke it became clear that it wasn’t for us at all. It was for him.
The connection was broken.
What a wasted opportunity.
