Reason #2 It Makes You More Approachable

Some of you might be thinking that being more memorable and being more approachable are pretty similar and don't need to be separated into different reasons; I, on the other hand, have found them to be quite distinct. It's one thing for people to easily remember you, it's quite another for them to approach you to talk. One of the biggest adjustments for me was having people come up to talk to me in public situations. Some might say that this happens to them on occasion, but I have found that it happens to me at least a few times a week. It's getting to the point where I can't walk into Wal-Mart without someone stopping to talk to me. This wasn't the case before I started to grow a mustache. People never approached me simply to talk to me, especially not complete strangers.

I am not sure what about having a mustache makes people more likely to talk to you, but in talking to my wife we came up with a possible reason. The mustache is in the public domain. This may not make sense at first, so allow me to explain. If someone walked in with piercings all over their face people aren't going to comment about it to your face, because for some reason it's offensive if you do. The same thing applies with outrageous clothing, or someone growing a beard. Socially it would be weird if you comment on these "facial accessories", but, if someone grows a mustache, then people seem to feel like it is their solemn duty to comment. I can't explain why socially there is that sort of guideline or restriction, but there is. Don't get me wrong, people aren't making rude comments to me, it's more as if they are just curious about it. All in all it's a great conversation starter. I have had all sorts of people talk to me since growing one. Young kids, teenagers, adults and some people who look old enough that they could be my great grandparents all seem to want to talk to me. I have had some lengthy and very interesting conversations with these people, and have come to really enjoy them. It has also made me wonder about something. When I was a missionary, I did everything that I could to talk to people and make myself approachable to people. Would missionaries have more success talking to people if they had mustaches? I guess that it's something for you to think about. Stay tuned for reason three next week.