Yes ! You were right to ask ! Yet the following pattern is just one way to help you to get pleasant contacts. You can of course adapt it according to how you feel it in order to touch people.

Real situation with a person to interview

- Good morning, do you have some time to spare me please ? This is about an artistic project called Happython...

(There you can tell him/her about the dynamic, the number of happy testimonies so far,  (see the Happython-meter on the website, the range of ages (from 2 to 109), the variety of countries, the exhibitions that already took place and the ones to be, where his/her testimony will very probably be exposed … so that the person you want to interview understands this is all part of a large original event...

 If the person says « No », make a smile  and tell him/her « bye bye », but, if he/she says « Yes », then go on :}

- We are collecting testimonies about what makes people happy. These happy testimonies are then exposed as works of art in exhibitions. Would you like to participate answering this question ?     

  If yes:

 - Great. Ask the question : "What makes, or has made, you happy ?"

The person might hesitate a bit, he/she might feel a bit embarrassed. Reassure him/her, saying this is a spontanous act it doesn’t have to be extraordinary, what makes you happy can be something really simple).

(If he/she is ok to go on : take notes !. It can be summed up if the person is really talkative and quick, but do not hesitate to ask for repetition if you’re not sure you got it all !)

Then, read your notes to the interviewee so that he/she can validate the testimony you got from him/her thank him/her, ask his/her first name, age and city where he/she lives. You can ask his/her email address too if any. And to finish with, you can ask : 

- Would you be interested to present this dynamic for happy moments to your family and friends ? 

If yes:

1/ He/she can interview those people him/herself, collect the happy testimony (with first name, age, city, email if any) and give it to you later so that you can enter the testimonies on the website

2/ He/she can visit our website, see the pictures, the dynamic, the exhibitions, and he-she might feel like becoming a «Happiness Agent ». That would make a friend for you to communicate happiness with!

3/ You can go and interview the person yourself ! (Now here’s a story : somebody once went to interview someone aged 109 … and this really was a great experience !) 

So there we are !  This society multidimensional game is really quite easy isn’t it?!!  It can also be quite surprising and sometimes even very inspiring. Some people will be more than happy to testify, some other people won’t answer you : never mind !! Be light and have fun allowing happy moments to emerge for people!

PS : Or you can chose to click here to watch the short film called "How to become an incredible Happiness Agent” (in French only for the moment… soon subtitled (we hope :) !) and suddenly you will understand it all ! :)