Do you have a minute?

Few things are as terrifying as approaching random people on the street, since it goes against every "don't talk to strangers" rule we're taught as children. Yet I found myself doing exactly that one Tuesday morning as I attempted to try working as a street canvasser for a day.

Street canvassers are a common sight around Seattle, with groups soliciting money or signatures for social welfare programs, school groups and ballot initiatives everywhere from the downtown shopping district to the Ave. Many people -- myself included -- avoid eye contact and walk quickly past, but I was curious to know more about the people involved in this growing method of societal participation.

"You have to be an excited, charismatic person and know what you're talking about," said Roger Kilburn, a veteran canvasser working for Save the Children.

With his bright red jacket, photo ID badge, professional-looking binder and friendly personality, Kilburn made the job look easy. His experience working for two years as a volunteer for Amnesty International led him to Dialogue Direct, a street canvassing company that hires out part- and full-time paid teams to fundraise for organizations like Save the Children.

"Location matters," he said. "We pick certain areas [for the teams to work in] based on past success, specifically areas of high traffic."

According to Kilburn, the Ave. was a good place to start for beginners like me. In his experience, college students were usually more open to becoming informed, which is the first step in the process.

"Downtown, you've got lots of money. Broadway, in the bank area, people are more open to talking," he said. "I've been to Whole Foods, where people are more conscious about the issues we're talking about, but I've found that college students are the easiest to talk to. People who have a harder time giving are usually more inclined to do so."

I hoped that it would be easier to get people to stop and talk to me since I wasn't trying to ask them to donate any money or sign any petition. My mission was to conduct a simple survey of people's opinions of street canvassing, with five short questions about their comfort level signing petitions or surveys on the Ave. and their willingness to stop. I was curious to see if location or appearance of the person made a difference, and at the same time get a feel for the experience myself.

I soon discovered that Kilburn underestimated the importance of being a "people person." Many passersby went to great lengths to avoid me, going so far as to jaywalk across the middle of the street rather than crossing to the corner where I stood or even turning around and walking in the opposite direction. Apparently I was encountering a common problem.

"Out of a thousand people, only a couple cool ones are willing to stop," Kilburn said. "You have to deal with rejection."

Once I managed to get someone to stop, I next had to figure out what to say. Perhaps it was my official-looking clipboard or the fact that I identified myself as a student and reporter for the UW's student newspaper first thing, but more than one person told me they didn't normally stop to talk on the Ave. Freshmen Maggie Haight and Cecily Harms both said they usually try to avoid canvassers on the Ave., due either to lack of time or appearance.

"If I'm on campus, I'm more likely to stop because being there lends [canvassers] credibility," Haight said. "They're not as sketch, and I'm usually not in as much of a hurry."

Topic matter also appeared to matter a great deal. Kilburn had told me he liked working in Seattle because the people seemed friendlier. I mentally added "more politically involved" to that list, since many individuals I talked to mentioned political canvassing as a type of on-the-street contact they'd encountered.

"I'm not really comfortable signing petitions on the Ave.," said Mari Litzenberger, a UW staff member who works at the Applied Physics Lab. "I don't like feeling the pressure without being able to learn about the issue."

David Bloom, a passerby with no connection to the UW, told me he had a low tolerance for "people with a religious or political agenda."

"I'm politically active, so I don't feel I need to waste my time," he said. "I generally will consider ballot petitions, but I don't answer surveys."

After talking to others like Bloom, I began to realize how lucky I was that people even stopped for me in the first place. I also became conscious of how difficult I had made it for myself, not having the support benefit of working with a team.

"Before the team goes out in the morning, we warm ourselves up playing games," Kilburn says. "It helps to get everyone talking and laughing because then we're ready for the day and already in a good mood."

Beginning the day with your sense of humor intact seemed to be one of the two most important aspects of effective street canvassing, since workers never know what reactions they will encounter.

"My first day I was approaching this guy in a business suit," Kilburn remembered. "I was maybe 10 paces away when the guy started yelling 'Get the fuck out of my face,' over and over at me. Then he turned to someone next to him and said 'These people need to get a job.' Stuff like that's hard, but you just have to get over it."

Aside from not taking rejection too personally, street canvassers need to care about the issues they're talking about. When approaching people, Kilburn's obvious passion for Save the Children's relief efforts makes his rehearsed speech more emotionally charged and therefore more successful.

"It's more effective fundraising face-to-face than online," he said. "I've got friends doing a documentary in Uganda on child soldiers, so I've got a personal connection that I think really helps."

My attempt at street canvassing only lasted a couple hours yet still managed to rank high on my list of uncomfortable experiences.

It was hard to imagine approaching people day after day and having to deal with endless rejection, disregard and disdain (to say nothing of cold, rainy Seattle winters) but people like Kilburn and his team have made a career out of it. Next time I'm asked if I have a minute, I promised myself, I'll put my cell phone away and listen.