6 Simple Ways To Keep A Conversation Going

Galaxy21
6 Simple Ways To Keep A Conversation Going

Having good conversation skills is a really good asset today. Being a good conversationalist can help you in different settings such as business, relationships, and all your overall interpersonal interactions. Having a good set of discussion
skills will help you to demonstrate confidence, make new friends, and avoid those awkward moments when you meet someone out of the blue, and you find yourself stuck because you can't think of anything to say.

If you're not very good at keeping conversations, this is for you..

6. Ask questions

This is the most simple advice you can get, yet it's effective when you don't have anything to say. To use it effectively, you have to ask the right questions, at the right time. So timing and context are crucial for this to work. Here are the main rules you should be aware of when asking your questions :
- Don't ask anything too personal or private. Stay on more general topics like work and daily activities.
- Avoid asking yes/no questions. Instead, ask open ended questions.
- Don't ask generic questions like 'how are you' or 'what are you up to?' those are real conversation killers. Ask more original questions, such as 'what do you think of that new movie?' or 'what are your ideas on that new project?'.
You have to be somewhat specific when asking your questions, but at the same time stay on a broad topic so that you can find something to talk about.

To do :

Ask open-ended questions on a specific aspect of the other person's life without being too intrusive.

5. Make a comment on the setting you're in

If you're in an environment that contains some special object, building, or anything special that's worth mentioning, don't hesitate to bring it up.. For example, maybe there's a really cool sea side nearby, or a really unusual building that you see when you're talking with someone else....etc. The idea is to find something that's special and unusual in your environment, and keep steering the conversation from there.

To do :

find something that's unusual or new in your surroundings, and make a comment about it

4. Use your general knowledge

If you're cultivated to a certain degree, then this won't be hard for you. When you find the conversation going dry, subtly use your common knowledge to your advantage. The trick is to identify the right topic, it shouldn't be too technical or complicated like physics or mechanics or anything, because that's boring. Instead, use a topic that's both common and simple to understand. For example, let's say you're on your way to work and you find your colleague on the same bus, and you find yourself going quiet, but you know that he's interested in anything related to cars, that's where your general insight kicks-in, you can for example look at a certain car in the street, and start telling him about it's price, what you know about it, and almost anything related to the subject. That alone can lead to a whole new conversation.​

To do :

​Use simple knowledge that you have about a specific topic, depending on the context you're in.

3. Talk about an important upcoming or recent event

That's an easy one. When you find yourself short on ideas, mention some upcoming event, or something big that happened in recent days. That's the most common way to break the ice in conversations. This is a flexible method because as there are many events in general, it allows you to easily relate to others because you can use it as common ground without much work, and that sets the ground to a longer conversation, and allows you to avoid awkward silences easily.

To do :

Talk about something important that will happen or that has already happened recently.

2. Find common interests

When talking to someone you know, you probably know a bit about them. Use your common sense to determine what the other person is about, is he more inclined towards music? sports? science? Find a broad area that he's interested in, and use your general info to talk about that specific subject. And if you don't know anything about it, even better, you can ask them questions about it, that way you'll be engaged in the convo, and you'll learn something new along the way.​

To do :

​Find a common interest, and use that to start a conversation.

1. Teach what you know

I know what you're thinking, but please bare with me. What this means is that everyone knows something. You can use what you know to keep a conversation going, you just have to know what to talk about, and how to talk about it.
Choose a topic that's interesting, and talk in a simple tone, after all you don't want the other person to fall asleep do you? So how exactly do you do this? First, pick something that you know about, that's interesting at the same time. Good examples include art, music, entertainment....etc. But you can talk about anything as long as it's not too serious. After you picked a good topic, try to subtly bring it up in the convo, then ask questions to the other person about it, and answer them in a simple manner, to position yourself as the one who's explaining that subject. With that being said, you must give others space so they can participate in the convo, and avoid being too technical about it. Remember : keep it simple.​

To do :

Bring up a topic in which you're well informed, then try to explain it in a very simple tone.

6 Simple Ways To Keep A Conversation Going
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