The vast majority of people, including many specialists on relationships and communication in the field of psychology or therapy

I met Samuel (or Sam) two years back at one Tech and AI conference in London that we both attended. We happened to be standing in a long queue for hot drinks before one of the first seminars for the day would start. There was still for about 15 minutes of morning networking left, and there I was — waiting to get a coffee, so I can awaken properly and warm up before I hear where the world of technology and artificial intelligence can take the developed world we live in, in the coming years.

Samuel stood just behind me and I happened to look at him while searching for a hostess to fix the coffee machine that coincidentally stopped working just as I wanted to use it. We exchanged a short conversation, which I believe started with him giving me a smile and me empathetically returning it. I might have made a comment about ‘why this — coffee error — had to happen now’. There was no one to help with coffee though, so I opted for Earl Grey I took with a croissant to enjoy a fast breakfast. When I finally settled down, I found myself next to Samuel, again. We were already sort of introduced to each other — thanks to a coffee machine error, so without the awkward first words of a stranger’s conversation, we somehow naturally got to talk.