Socially Awkard? You?
Adam at YouMeTips.com wants your next conference hallway chat to go a little easier. He’s worked out some ideas on handling conversation, and other areas where you’ll feel off kilter.
That is basically six areas to talk about: name, home, family, work, travel, hobbies. Memorize that list of six topics, and when the time comes, the questions will come to mind easily, keeping the conversation lively and smooth. A smooth and lively conversation will put the other person at ease which will make you feel more comfortable.
How to Avoid Feeling Socially Awkward – [You Me Tips .com]
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Comments
inkling says on May 14th, 2006 at 10:08 am
My first job out of college required that I “mingle” every other week with clients who were in town for training. Since I’m naturally shy, I dreaded these forced social events. Worse yet, it was a high-end banking software company and I knew little about the software and even less about banking (I was the entry-level graphic designer).
I quickly discovered a two-step conversation “hack” that worked like a charm. I would ask where the person was from, then would ask some vague, open-ended question about a sports team from that area. “Cleveland, huh? Think the Indians are going anywhere this year?” “Rural Iowa? So you’re not a Nebraska fan, I take it?”
Most of the clients were guys older than me and they would immediately open up. I’m no sports fanatic and tend only to follow them when my team is in the playoffs (go Suns!). But by asking general questions, 9 times out of 10 they would brighten up and start passionately discussing everything they know about that team, player, coach, etc.
The best part was, since I’m not from Cleveland or Iowa, they didn’t expect me to know the players, stats, etc., like they did. They were in the position of expert (even if they weren’t rabid fans), and I was the student who just had to nod and smile for the rest of the conversation.
I still use this trick today and it works like magic.
Chris Peterson says on May 14th, 2006 at 2:58 pm
I like to ask people to reveal any interesting “insider secret” tidbits about their work. They get to be the expert and I get to learn something. Like Dale Carnegie says, people love to talk about themselves and good listeners make good conversationlists.