Yes, I must apologise for (for this once) relying on an acronym - I was actually trying to conform to forum habits
Yes, I meant "outside controlled airspace", which is why I mentioned a Flight Information Service, too, and not a controller. Still, many pilots tune in, and offer position reports, so that one gets to know about
a part of nearby traffic.
And yes, a listening watch is what I'll often do, too. As my craft is not transponder equipped, FIS can not do very much for me anyway, though they do have occasionally warned me of possibly conflicting traffic on the flimsy base of position reports, and perhaps primary radar - they were quite accurate!