Tuesday, February 6, 2007

How to have a conversation effortlessly

Do you find it difficult to keep a conversation going? Do you feel awkward and tongue-tied while meeting new people?

Below are some tips to help you improve social interaction skills:


1. Be knowledgeable:
First and foremost you should have atleast some sort of knowledge about different topics. For that you have to be a voracious reader. It has been said that "readers are leaders." A person who develops the habit of reading will know something about many different topics and can hold conversations with many people of different backgrounds and interests.

People who keep themselves updated about trade news, health and environmental information, current affairs etc. rarely find themselves struggling to keep up a conversation. So invest some time in increasing your knowledge.


2. Ask open ended questions:
Instead of asking close-ended questions which can be answered by yes or no, ask open-ended questions which will force the other person to respond in a more elaborate manner.

If you find that you do not have any topics to talk about, you can use this simple technique to keep the conversation active - make the other person speak as much as possible.

Using this technique you can keep a conversation alive and kicking for a long time without putting any pressure on yourself to come up with new things to say. To keep the other person talking ask open-ended questions. Simple!


3. Make an effort to be a good listener:
Listen to the other person's response. Often you can learn a lot about the other person by listening to his/her words carefully. It would certainly help in improving your social interaction skills if you fight the urge to respond immediately and instead really listen to what the other person is trying to communicate.



4. Pay attention to small details:
Ask people about their kids, what school do they study in,ask them about their weekend plans or about their home or relatives. These small details inform you a lot about the other person's life and it shows genuine care and interest on your part for that person.

This can help in making him/her warm up to you. This technique will also provide you with enough things to talk about while conversing with that person.


If you are looking to improve your public speaking skills, click here - better public speaking skills

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