Hey every one, have you ever been in a situation where you can muster up the courage to say hi to someone but then your mind goes completely blank? It happens to people quite often. And today I'm going to share with you a couple of tips on how to get past that awkward stage of conversation. Otherwise if you've already opened up conversation with them and you're stuck.
Here's what you do. Avoid asking yes or no questions. Because once you frame something as a yes or no question and they answer, that's the end of the topic. Instead, shape what you're going to say to elicit an emotional response instead of a general one. Don't say something like "have you seen any good movies lately?" because they could just answer no and that's the end of it. Try shaping your question to be more like "what was the last movie you saw that really tugged on your heartstrings?". Make fun assumptions with them. Now this goes hand in hand with your action packed question. If they can't seem to come up with an answer, you can always come up with an oddball assumption about them that'll be funny and prompt them to respond. An example of this would be something like "You're one of those people, aren't you? I can read it all over you. You're the kind of person that cries during Twilight, huh? You just weep like a big old baby I bet. "It's funny and it works because nobody wants to be figured out especially when what you're figuring out is completely wrong about them. Call out the awkwardness. Don't be afraid of awkward silence. If it does happen, make fun of the fact that the conversation has run dry. What you have in that moment is tension and the best way to relieve it is to let that person know that it's ok that you guys have nothing to talk about. Say something like"And this is the moment where we awkwardly stand here and avoid eye contact at all cost. No, but seriously the reason I brought up movies is because. . . ". Relate your questions to positive stories. Once you've hit that hook point where they feel comfortable responding to you, you can shift the conversation back to yourself. Tell them about a movie that made you cry manly tears and then make a fun assumption making fun of them for judging you for it. All of these different steps play into each other to make a fun and engaging conversation. If you get the cold shoulder, just walk away. Yes, there will be times where the other person just doesn't feel like talking to you. If you encounter situations where you're getting eye rolls and the persons saying things like "yep", then just simply tell them"it was nice talking to you" and walk away. Because what you were offering was a fun conversation and they just weren't up for it. So it sounds like their loss to me. What do you guys think though? What are some interesting things that you've brought up in conversation that have either worked for you or failed?
