Imagine you’re in an event. You bumped into an acquaintance and you said “hello.” You make a bit of small talk, and then the awkward pause. You just don’t know what to say next.
We’ve all been there—that moment when your brain just refused to generate ideas to talk about. Well, it’s time to make sure that the awkward situation never happens again. Here are five important rules that will transform you to a great conversationalist and possibly make you the life of the party.
- Bring Up Old Memories
How many times you’ve started a conversation with “Hey, how are you?” This happens almost every time you meet someone somewhere. It’s as boring as it gets, because the answer you’ll likely get is ‘I’m good.’
Instead of falling into dead air after that, bring up immediately a great memory. For example,
“Hey remember the first time we all went to try ice skating at The Rink? That was so fun.” It’s a guarantee you’ll get a much better reaction.
- Be Curious With the Person
Have a genuine curiosity and passion to learn from other people. One of the ways to get people open up to you is to ask them questions.
Listen carefully during the conversation and ask them questions. Don’t ask just for the sake of asking something. Make sure it’s genuine and thoughtful. You will know what to ask when you listen attentively to what they are saying.
- Remember Names
A tried-and-tested way to show someone that you really care is to remember their name—not their last name but their first name. People respond better if you show them that you know them.
One easy trick to help you remember people’s names is to repeat it after they tell you. You can also try word association, where you try to think of a thing or a popular personality with the same name to help you remember the person.
- Live an Interesting Life
Live the life you’ve always dreamed of, or at least inject something interesting to your everyday routine to break the monotonous activity.
For example, take a modern dancing class, enrol to a baking course, write a book, start a small business, travel abroad or go camping every weekend. Once you keep things interesting in your life, you’ll have countless of great stories to tell other people, which lead us to the next rule.
- Storytelling
People can hardly remember details, but they can remember great stories. One of the ways to become a great conversationalist is to have amazing stories to tell.
Real stories are much easier to tell and sound more interesting than stories that are completely made up. Depending on what’s being talked about, bring up interesting life events that fits the context of the topic.
People are naturally drawn to good conversationalists, because they are always fun to be with. If you want to be this person, remember and learn these rules by heart.
