Find Common Ground
One of the basics aspects of starting a conversation is to find common ground between yourself and the person that you are trying to converse with. Many people rely on the surroundings in which you are at to find this information, including the fact that you both may be partaking in the same situation, or you both may have similar interests depending on the venue in which you are located.
Using this common ground, you will have fuel for the conversation and therefore find things that you are able to talk about. This common ground can also provide leads to further topics of conversation.
Know Who You are Talking to
It is important that you know who you are talking to. It can help you to create subjects and contexts that will be familiar to that person and therefore allow the person to easily carry on their part of the conversation. This can be an effective way to choose topics in the conversation – as you should choose topics in which the person that you are talking to can easily relate to and therefore take part in the conversation about.
Ask Open Ended Questions
While taking part in conversations, it is extremely important that both people within the conversation take part in the discussion, or more people within the group if there are more than two people talking. One of the most important aspects to keep a conversation going or to even start a conversation with a person that you know, or a stranger is to ask open ended questions. Open ended questions require the person answering the question to answer with more than a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer and therefore can help to string the conversation along. Begin using these techniques with people that you presently talk to and you will see how easily the conversation flows from one topic to another.
Smile
Studies have shown that smiling puts people at ease that you are talking to and can increase the confidence of the person that you are talking to. Choosing to smile throughout the conversation is an effective way to ensure that you are able to create a connection with the person. Smiling, as it increases the confidence of the person that you are talking to can also cause the person to speak more, about more topics, throughout the entire conversation.
Engage and be Interested
Being interested in the conversation and the topics that are being talked about throughout the conversation is an essential way to ensure that you are able to engage the audience, regardless of who you are talking to. Choose topics that you are passionate about, and you will never run out of things to say. Think about your hobbies, the topics that you are interested in and topics which could stem from these conversations and work these topics into the subjects you speak about.
Realize the Importance of Eye Contact
It is important to create eye contact through a conversation. Using eye contact as a tool to create a great conversation is essential, as it ensures that you will create a connection with the person that you are talking to. Using eye contact within the conversation can also convey that you are truly listening to one another. Eye contact is important but you should avoid entering into a staring contest and therefore it is important to look away every once in a while, otherwise the eye contact may be seen as intimidating.
Stop Fidgeting
Sometimes, when we are uncomfortable in a situation we look to our hands and the items that are around us to have something to play with. Somehow, this increases the confidence and takes the pressure off of the conversation. Although this may take the pressure off of the conversation for you personally, it is important to realize that this appears as if your full attention is not on the person that you are talking to.
Fidgeting is one of those things that should be avoided, as it can give signals and clues that you are truly not interested in what the other person has to say as part of the conversation.
