7 ways to make conversation with anyone

Let’s start with a question: how many of you know the people who are living on the same floor as you? If yes, then do you remember first conversation you had with that person?

Conversations are links, which means when you have a conversation with a new person a link gets formed and every conversation you have after that moment will strengthen the link.

You meet new people everyday; the grocery worker, the cab driver, new people at work or the security guard at the door. Simply starting a conversation with them will form a link.

Now imagine your life with these conversation links. How many you can remember? Believe me, I tried but after 20 I forgot the count. It’s like a world wide web of conversation links, which can give you a whole new perspective.

A conversation opens a door, conversation can make war and it can make peace as well. Conversation defines who we are as a human race.

Think about it, you will begin knowing nothing about every single person in your life right now – the single thing that breaks the ice is the first conversation.

Here are 7 simple ways that you can make the first move and start a conversation with strangers.

1. Just say it

Suppose you are in a room with someone you don’t know and something within you says “I want to talk with this person” – this is something that mostly happens with all of us. You wanted to say something – the first word – but it just won’t come out, it feels like it is stuck somewhere. I know the feeling and here is my advice: just say it.

Just think: what is the worst that could happen? They won’t talk with you? Well, they are not talking with you now!

I truly believe that once you get that first word out everything else will just flow. So keep it simple: “Hi” ,”Hey” or “Hello” – do the best you can to gather all of the enthusiasm and energy you can, put on a big smile and say “Hi”.

2. Skip the small talk

It’s a problem all of us face; you have limited time with the person that you want to talk and you want to make this talk memorable.

Honestly, if we got stuck in the rut of “hi” ,”hello”,”how are you?” and “what’s going on?”, you will fail to give the initial jolt to the conversation that can make it so memorable.

So I urge you to skip the small talk. Don’t be afraid to ask more personal questions. Trust me, you’ll be surprised to see how much people are willing to share if you just ask.

Try questions regarding his or her interesting name, if there is any story behind it, how long have they been living in this city, do they remember first day they arrived? There are many ways of asking more personal questions which people won’t bite to answer, trust me on that!

3. Find the “me too”s

When you meet a person for the first time, make an effort to find the things which you and that person have in common so that you can build the conversation from that point. When you start conversation from there and then move outwards, you’ll find all of a sudden that the conversation becomes a lot more easier.

4. Pay a unique compliment

I read somewhere that people will forget what you do and they will forget what you have said, but they never forget how you made them feel and how you treated them. So, be generous, get your ego out of the way, and give someone a genuine compliment. But be cautious, that compliment should be genuine and unique to the person you’re talking to.

5. Ask for an opinion

We all have opinions and we all want them to be heard; everybody wants validation. So go ahead and ask for an opinion.

You will have opened a two-way street, and that’s when the real communication can begin. You’ll be surprised to see how much you can pick up from the person just by asking their opinion on generic things.

Here is a mistake that some people make, though. They ask an opinion on really difficult things, for example someone asks your opinion about rise in oil prices and their impact on inflation. It feels awkward to answer if you don’t know the subject matter at all.

So just ask something simple and keep it generic, like “when was the last time you watched a movie?”, and when someone gives you their opinion be sure to listen.

6. Be present

Imagine you are pouring your heart out to someone and they are just busy on their phone, and if you ask for their attention you get the response “I can multitask”.

So when someone tries to communicate with you, just be in that communication wholeheartedly. Make eye contact. Trust me, eye contact is where all the magic happens. When you make eye contact, you can feel the conversation.

7. Name, places, animal, things

You all came into a conversation where you first met the person, but after some time you may have met again and have forgotten their name. Isn’t that awkward!

So, remember the little details of the people you met or you talked with; perhaps the places they have been to, the places they want to go, the things they like, the things they hate – whatever you talk about.

When you remember such things you can automatically become investor in their wellbeing. So they feel a responsibility to you to keep that relationship going.

That’s it. Seven amazing ways that you can make conversation with almost anyone. Every person is a really good book to read, to or to have a conversation with!

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