Why can’t I get my friends and family to go skydiving?!?

[Baksteen 84]

For me, skydiving is just something I do, and I present it as such to my non-skydiving friends and acquintances.

I don't often start talking about skydiving of my own, but I don't really hide the fact that I jump and answer any questions people have got, as far as I am able. "Questions" here meaning anything between "did you hear about fatality X" and "did you go jumping lately".

What I have found to be an effective way of dealing with stereotypical "whuffo jokes" is taking them seriously and countering with corrections about things really work in the skydiving community. After a few moments people get interested despite themselves and start asking serious questions.

However, despite the above, I mention skydiving on my resumé. First since I do volunteer's work for my club, second since it allows me to talk about risk mitigation, third since it makes me stand out and fourth since every minute I have to talk about skydiving is a minute less answering difficult questions.

As a rule, I don't talk people into jumping. I might give a little push if that's what I think is needed, but over 90% of the decision and the motivation to sign up for the FJC needs to come from themselves - not from me. That's the only way to get people into jumping and keep them into jumping for more than a few jumps.

[wmw999 2,116]

I'm past the age where my contemporaries are likely to start skydiving. Maybe a tandem jump, but it's unlikely they'll start. But my answers when asked include things like "I've been doing it for 45 years; if it wasn't fun for me, or was too dangerous, I probably wouldn't have kept with it," and "I've never had a jump I couldn't walk away from smiling."

Also, the classic, "It's a piece of me," and "it's not mandatory."

Wendy P.

[kleggo 138]

On 10/31/2020 at 9:13 AM, mark said:

What the O.P. doesn't realize is that his friends and family are already skydiving.  He just needs to meet them.

this is the BEST reply