Conversation is a sharing of thoughts and ideas. Strangers can be excellent potential conversation partners. To start a conversation with a stranger is easy for some people. Smiling is a universal way of welcoming so at the beginning smile on the stranger.
“Be brave enough to start a conversation”.
Here are some strategies to start conversation
1 .Comment on Something Personal
Often, the person with whom you are trying to start a conversation will have some unique aspect of themselves. Perhaps it is an item of jewellery, or may be an unusual dress; something distinctive that tells a story about the person. Items like this give you a starting point for conversation.
Say something like:
“Wow, that is a beautiful earring. What kind of stone is that?”
“Nice dress, where do you purchase it?”
Be sure to avoid anything too intimate as a starting point or you’re likely to offend the other person. Don’t ask if that is her real hair colour or if he is a regular at the gym.
Follow up with something somewhat personal that relates to the other person and that tells him or her something interesting about you:
“The only place I’ve ever seen anything like that earrings was once at a bazaar in Hyderabad.”
“I want to buy such a dress but don’t know where to find it.”
All of these statements help connect you to the person and keep the conversation moving. Remember, the goal is not to say the perfect thing or come across a certain way, but to open the door for more conversation.
2. Try the Old Standby: “Haven’t I Seen You Somewhere Before”
Given the right circumstances, this conversation starter can work. If you say to someone, “You seem really familiar, do I know you from somewhere?” it makes it very easy to gather and give a lot of information and start a conversation.
“Which high school did you study?”
“I was in the music team, did you play any instrument?”
“Where do you work?”
As you go through the details of the other person’s life story, feel free to go off on tangents. Remember, you don’t really want to find out if you’ve met before; you want to get to know more about the other person.
3. Make a Funny Comment
One of the best ways to start a conversation is to make a funny comment about your surroundings.
“Hey, doesn’t our instructor look like a comedian?”
“Is it just me, or are you too asleep?”
The goal is not to be judgmental, so be sure to keep your comments positive. Then, try to invite the other person in on the joke.
“Where do you think he keeps his magic wand, in his briefcase?”
“Do you think this class is boring?”
Know that this method of starting a conversation can be risky. Humour is difficult with someone you don’t know well. However, if you find someone who shares your sense of humour, chances are that it will be the start of a great friendship. Think of this period as a time of testing the waters, to find people who think the same way that you do.
Remember that any of these tricks can fail some of the time. If you don’t receive a positive response from someone, there are always other people whom you can approach.
If you are persistent, over time it will get easier to speak with strangers. As you become more confident and at ease, you won’t need to rely on tricks to start conversations.
4. Comment on a topic common to both of you at the moment
The food, health condition, the occasion, the weather.But keep it on the positive side! Unless you can be hilariously funny, the first time you come in contact with a person isn’t a good time to complain.
Also Read : Active Listening: The Most Important Skill for Effective Mentors and Mentees
5. Comment on a topic of general interest
Nowadays everyone is in the same flow and thinking about the tragedy of covid-19. It can be the question “how is covid conditions in your locality?”One more interesting thing Rafael can also be discussed.
6. Ask open questions that can’t be answered with a single word
“What’s keeping you busy these days?” This is a good question if you’re talking to a person who doesn’t have an office job. It’s also helpful because it allows people to choose their focus, preferable to the inevitable question “What do you do?”
A variant: “What are you working on these days?” This is a useful way if you ought to know what the person does for a living, and can be a way to continue.
7. Ask a follow-up question
For example, if you ask, “Where are you from?” an interesting follow-up question might be, “how is the weather there?” If you ask, “Do you have children?” you might ask, “How old are they?” or you can ask about their studies and all.
8. Ask getting-to-know-you question
“What newspapers and magazines do you subscribe to? What internet sites do you visit regularly?” These questions often reveal a hidden passion, which can make for great conversation.
9. React to what a person says in the spirit in which that comment was offered.
If he makes a joke, even if it’s not very funny, try to laugh. If she offers some surprising information, react with surprise. Recently, I’ve had a few conversations where the person I was talking to just never reacted to what I said. I was trying to be all insightful and interesting, and these two people reacted as though everything I said was completely obvious and dull. It was unsatisfying.
Now, what to do if a conversation is just not working, and there’s no way to use the “Excuse me” Recently, at a dinner party, the guy sitting on my right side was clearly very bored by me. He explained to me at length about how happiness didn’t really exist, but after setting me straight on that subject didn’t want to talk about it anymore, and after a few failed attempts at other topics, after an awkward pause in the conversation, he said, “hmm, so where are you from?” It was such a listless, uninspired effort that I leaned over, put my hand on his arm, and changed the conversation.
Conversation is a skill, don’t hurry up to start a conversation and also be ready to listen to the other person. Otherwise all the above strategies will not be useful.
“Every good conversation starts with a good listening”
