Starting a conversation with someone you are unfamiliar with can be adventurous, nerve-wracking and fun too. This can help you make new friends, build great networks and get good contacts that may help you in the future. You just need to have the courage, confidence and find a common ground in order to begin a conversation. I have used these practical tips, that I am sharing with you, in meeting complete strangers to introduce them to my blog and also to get their contacts in order to send them my subsequent blogs.
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1. Let your approach be an open one. If
your approach is perceived to be intimidating or sneaky, it could turn on the
stranger’s defensive mechanism.
2. Make sure the person is not talking
to someone else or doing something too serious that your approach might
irritate that person.
3. Approach with a warm smile and
maintain eye contact. There’s a tendency that the stranger will mirror or act
in same way.
It is
quite easier if the person is with someone that you are familiar with. So,
asking a mutual friend to introduce you to that person is quite helpful.
4. Take your attention off yourself
onto the person you are meeting so that you can be aware of the person’s body
movements and facial expressions. This will help you to be aware if the person
is receptive to your company, help you to relax during the conversation, and to
observe when the person is not comfortable with any topic discussed during the
conversation.
5. Respect physical boundaries. Getting
too close into the person’s personal space or giving a hug at first when the
person is unfamiliar with you might be quite uncomfortable.
6. Some people are quite receptive, while
others appear clearly disinterested, give short one-word answers or walk away
from conversing with strangers. Only go for those who seem receptive and are
happy to talk to you.
1. Start the conversation with something
common that the stranger can easily relate with at the moment or in the
environment. For example, if you are in a restaurant, try complimenting on the
food served there and suggesting a particular savory delicacy served there.
2. Try talking a bit about yourself, as
a way of introduction, to make the person feel comfortable with you. This will
show that you are open and will help encourage the other person open to you
too. Avoid talking too much about yourself or bragging endlessly about your
accomplishments.
3. Ask open-ended questions (that
require more than Yes/No answer) to learn more about the person. Avoid asking
very personal questions at first, just keep it light and casual. Be genuinely
curious and amazed by the response.
4. Be an attentive listener. Try as
much as possible to be present in the conversation without interrupting the
person while the person is speaking (something like ‘listen to listen; not ‘listen
to reply’). Being attentive help you to connect emotionally well with the
person, and this behavior is often appreciated and seen as very charming. Avoid
using your devices when having a conversation.
5. Find the ‘me too’ in the
conversation. Always look out for what you have in common with the person and
let the person know. Avoid being negative.
6. Give unique and genuine compliments.
Many people have become immune to generic compliments such as: Awesome, cool,
beautiful, etc. So, let your compliments pay attention to the little details
that makes the bigger picture.
·
For
example, instead of only saying, “You are beautiful”, go a bit further to say,
“I love your necklace, it goes so well with your dress. You are beautiful!”.
·
“You
have these cute dimples when you smile that makes you look so pretty”
Be generous with your genuine compliments,
because people always love compliments and will not easily forget how special
you made them feel.
7. Use humor to make the person laugh.
This helps to ease the tension in the conversation thereby creating an
enjoyable conversation.
8. Ask for opinion. This makes the conversation
a two-way street; making the other person active in it. This will make the
other person see that you value his/her point of view. Do not make the question
look so big that makes the person feel a lack in that area of conversation.
9. If you seem to be lacking in topics
of conversation, you can try ‘Name, place, animal and thing’ approach. Here,
you get to know the name of the person, places the person has been to,
discussion about his/her pet, and the things he/she loves doing respectively.
Try not to forget these information as you use it subsequently in the
conversation.
10. Keep the conversation neutral and
not controversial. Avoid starting conversations with topics about politics,
appearance (such as scars, weights, etc.), religion, etc.
Check out How to Hold a Charming Conversation for more amazing practical tips on how to
continue the conversation.
Thank you so much for taking time to read this blog post. I hope this has provided more value and has been quite helpful to you. Please recommend this blog post to someone that may find it helpful too. You can also leave any helpful insight you might want to share on this topic in the comment section below.
You can also checkout the following amazing series on this blog:
Lebari-Dick Leteh has the deepest desire to serve, improve, uplift, and enrich people's lives with his books, blog and other works. He is the author of 'Truths About Talent' and 'The Good News'.
Both are available on Amazon Kindle, and you can assess these books via the following links:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BBBWLYP5
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BC2HVX64
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