Have you ever tried to ‘get the word out’ by taking a bunch of scrap paper and handing them out to strangers so that they can throw it away right after you hand it to them? My favorite is when the people passing out flyers are really selective about who they want to hand the flyers to. That must be a nice feeling, being one of the few selected people that get the honor of throwing away a piece of cardboard paper for someone else. One time I was handed a flyer walking down the stairs, as soon as I turn the corner there was another guy handing out flyers, so I tried to hand that guy the flyer from the first guy, and he refused to take it. He actually said, “Nah man, I don’t want that,” then he handed me a flyer.
The other people you got to watch out for are the guys with the vests who want you to donate stuff. Over the years I’ve developed a foolproof approach when it comes to dealing with these guys.
1. Make eye contact and smile at them.
You’ll have to fight your instincts on this one. Normally people handle these guys by pretending to talk on the phone or various other ways to pretend like the donation people aren’t there. You can’t really do this all the time, though, because nobody actually thinks you’re that popular.
2. Don’t talk to them… ever.
Once you make eye contact they’ll be super excited to talk you into donating some money. If you keep smiling and remain silent, you can’t donate anything.
3. Never stop walking.
This is the best part. Their mood goes from extremely cheery and upbeat when you first make eye contact, to confused and disappointed when you don’t say anything to them and just keep walking by.
