“Those are some really nice pair of shoes”
“Thanks.”
“Where did you buy it from”
“So there is this place……..”
There are gazillion ways of starting a conversation. Striking conversations with people is one of the many beautiful things humans are gifted with. Listening to and sharing stories build relationships beyond imaginable levels.
There are many among us who love to converse but don’t know how to initiate a conversation. With some of the very basic and easy ways, you are sure to sail through a conversation nicely.
Open with a compliment:
A conversation starter that will never fail, begin with complimenting. People love to receive compliments even though they might not be great at taking one. Notice the person you want to talk to, decide what you like the most about him/her and give a genuine compliment. This will make your listener more comfortable and open to talking to you. However, be careful of not complimenting on the physical appearance like his/her body type. Also, please keep in mind that there is a thin line between flirting and complimenting someone. Make sure you don’t cross that line by something like “I like the way you smile”. It’s a complete NO NO!
“Hi” with a warm smile:
There is nothing safer than this. Just approach the person with a “hi” and a warm smile, introduce yourself if you feel the need to and directly land on your main motive of the conversation without wasting much time. If you are approaching a person on a professional level you could start with “Hi this is so and so and I am and so and so of XYZ company. It would be great if you could join hands with us to so and so reason. We can discuss this in detail over a meeting sometime soon”. This can only be used when you have a strong motive in mind and intend to derive an action in return.
Comment on the weather or something around you:
If it is too hot or humid or breeze, you can go ahead with commenting on it. A statement like “It is really humid today, there is no wind at all”, can make your listener agree with you and add to that. You can then take the conversation ahead, from there. If discussing the weather seems typical to you, you could also point out to something in the surrounding that intrigues you and comment on it. It can be anything like “This restaurant has a good amount of visitors, the food it serves must be really delicious” or “That shop out there looks really cool. I am definitely going to check it out.” These are all conversation starters that will definitely bring out a response from your listener thus making way for further conversation.
Share a personal experience:
If you reach to a dead end of a small conversation, remember you can always start with a new one. Share a story or your personal experience with the listener which you feel might strike a common chord with him/her. You never know, you might end up listening to his/her personal experience.
Try to find common connections by asking basic questions:
Besides being a great way to get to know a person, by asking about basic things, you might also end up finding out something common between the two of you which will further just help in building a connection and bond. Simple questions like “Which school do you go to” or “Where do you hail from” will allow you to carry on the conversation by adding something like “Oh nice. I went to so and so school. It was so much back then” or “I have heard that place is known for so and so things” after your listener answers your question. Most of the times it might happen that you will come up with common friends, or interest. Just make sure that while you try to get to know your listener you don’t ask questions that will intrude his/her personal space.
I wouldn’t recommend you to approach a complete stranger walking on the road, but if you love talking to strangers then that is totally your call. You can however, definitely implement the above mentioned ways to get a conversation started with someone who is an acquaintance, or someone whom you are truly interested to know and talk.
