Gretchen Rubin’s Happiness Project has a nice take on making conversation. One reason I like it is that I tend to talk about conversations from the point of view of someone who’s not especially shy. Gretchen self-admits her shyness (and her boredom) with social conversation situations, and she gives you ideas.
If, like me, out of shyness or boredom, you sometimes find yourself making several trips to the bathroom during a cocktail party, or desperately wishing that dessert were already cleared away, or searching your mind for anything to say while you’re stuck in a situation with a stranger, here are some strategies to try:
- Comment on common topics.
- Ask open questions.
- Admit it’s tricky.
See for yourself her several examples of open questions.
Make Conversation- [The Happiness Project
small talk to me are boring.
open ended questions are great, but be prepared to relate to whatever the person says about it in terms of emotion, how you can relate to what they say on an emotional level. even if you can’t relate to what they are saying at all, everyone can relate to how it felt when it happened, and that is what people are looking for.
if someone says that they love jetskiing and riding up and down on the waves, you may hate jetskiing but may feel the same way about painting:
“wow that feeling to be letting yourself go with noone else around is a really great feeling. it’s those times where you don’t think about anything going on in your life except for what you are doing right there.”
Nice post!
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You can try pondering the question while interacting.