(45 sec read)
Am I the only one who loves to dial wrong numbers?
It’s a surefire way to catch someone off guard, in the midst of their normal goings-on. You’re instantly a fly on the wall.
Both parties may suspect something is up right away but there’s still that awkward conversation that has to happen.
And people handle it in such different ways…
Incredulous: Alex? Nah, no Alex here, man.
Apologetic: Oh I’m sorry, I think you have the wrong number?
Indifferent: Wrong number.
Efficient: (Click)
I admit, I usually try to draw the call out a bit just to see if I can catch another fragment of their life, like looking through the cracks in a wooden fence to see if I can see what’s going on back there.
“Oh, sorry about that. I was just trying to call a client.”
No one’s asked what I do yet but the subtleties in their retorts tell me tons.
It’s refreshing to catch a sliver of life that’s far outside my circles, to hear a voice that sounds nothing like my people, to experience a reaction that’s as authentic as it gets – not staged like a blog comment and not as risky as real life.
Just two people crashing into each other for a moment, exposed wires making contact and then falling past each other, unable to resist the curl of their cords.