Are you new at the office, alone at a party or stuck in a queue at the airport and don’t know how to start a conversation? Is the situation awkward and the level of embarrassment increases over time? We have a few hints to start the conversation well.
How to start a conversation
Isn’t it a nice feeling when some extremely talented caller throws you a lifebuoy and starts a simple and pleasant chat? Instead of waiting for such a person, become the soul of the party yourself. You can learn puzzles. Most people are really happy when they can talk and just wait for someone else to take the first step.
Here are some hints that will help you start a conversation with strangers without embarrassment:
Do research
Look at the profiles of the participants of the Instagram or Facebook event. See where they studied, what studies they graduated from, where they come from, what they are interested in. This is a mine of information. Maybe you have mutual friends, maybe you also finished management, or you like to dive or ski.
Use common ground – two people always have something in common
Maybe you are a tall woman who has just noticed another tall woman. You will definitely be able to exchange anecdotes. Maybe a boy wearing similar clothes entered the room. Praise his style, playfully showing his clothes. You can always find something that connects you with someone to start a conversation. Just be ready to ask open questions. If you don’t see the common points, start with what you learned on social media.
Stimulators of conversation
Take the opportunity to say a few words about yourself at the beginning of the conversation. It becomes more and more troublesome later. Ask open-ended questions, i.e. ones that cannot be summed up with a short “yes” or “no”. For example, ask for opinions on various topics, advice, information about a specialist. People love being asked for advice. By joining a larger company, join the conversation at the very beginning. Then it will be harder and harder for you.
No matter how trivial it sounds, there is a list of safe topics invented in order to have a nice conversation that does not hurt anyone, does not offend anyone and does not require entering shoes with someone else’s life.
You can easily talk about the weather (the British say that thanks to the invention of the weather theme, these warlike nations survived on one narrow island), about holidays, about sport, about cars, about food, about new films, about the latest gadgets and inventions, about construction or home renovation. Continue on the topic that interested the interlocutor.
Search for references
Sometimes we just don’t know what to talk about here. We may have initiated the conversation, but we don’t want it to end there. We don’t know each other at all, so what to talk about. Grab everything. E.g. what a person is wearing. Tie? And from where What do you think about this store? Have you ever bought anything there? Grab the words of the caller and find a reference to them in your own life. There is no validator on the bus, a pretty girl is trying to delete a ticket.
