10 Great Conversation Starters That Work Every Time
Good conversation starters put people at ease right away. This is how all good conversations start: when people feel comfortable and relaxed. Starting a conversation like this is a skill, and you can learn it.
Starting a conversation is often the hardest part of all. Once you’re done with the first few sentences, the conversation usually flows. But how can you start the conversation?
Ideally, find a topic that interests the person you’re talking to. That means they’ll want to get back to you and it will keep the conversation flowing. Questions are good for that, as long as you don’t sound like you’re an interrogator.
Open-ended questions are great conversation starters, as they can’t just be answered with ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Or you can make a comment. If you hit the comment, you will get a good response. The right starter is important and having a few starters ready for any situation is always a good idea.
Here are ten great conversation starters:
1. Compliment them on their clothes or appearance. Everyone likes to be admired. Also, when they tell you where they bought an item of clothing or that they just got a haircut, that gives you something else to talk about and voila!
Ask them why they like the store where they bought the clothes they admire and where else they like to shop. It might even get you one more meeting to go shopping with them.
2. Ask their opinion on something light like what they think of the wine you are both drinking, etc. He will feel that he is interested in them, but he will not feel that he is judging them. For that reason, stay away from charged topics like religion and politics.
If you find they have a favorite topic, ask them lots of questions about it. People love to talk, preferably about themselves! If you give them a chance to do that, you’ll find it pretty easy, and you’ll still be seen as a great conversationalist.
3. Find out the person’s name and use it. Use it early on and use it often. You will be seen as caring and considerate.
4. Start with the obvious. What seems most obvious to you right now? Questions like ‘so how do you know [host]?’ Entrees are always easy and good.
You could also ask ‘have you taken these classes before?’ Yes, I know it’s a closed question, but it may well encourage more conversation from the other person, since she’s probably interested in the classes and has an opinion about it. them.
If you are in a house, comment on an image or an ornament; all he’s trying to do is break the ice and make sure the silence ends. After that, it gets easier.
5. If you’ve met the person before but aren’t quite sure what to say now, you can always ask what they did over the weekend. Even if they say they didn’t do much, it can lead you to sympathize with the horrible weather that kept you inside or to talk about the TV.
6. If there is big news right now, ask if they heard. If she says no, you can say something like ‘Oh, I was just wondering what happened to…’
7. Have you met the person before? You may remember them saying that they were on vacation or for a birthday. Ask how it went.
8. Hold on to the time of year. If it’s close to Christmas, for example, ask how it went or how their preparations are going.
9. Have you been to [a local restaurant]? That’s good since most people are interested in eating.
10. What kind of music to listen to? That one is particularly easy to swipe if there’s music playing where you’re at.
Those are ten ideas to get you started, but the key is to go ahead and say something. Make it small and make it light. Good conversation starters are only as good as the response they get, so make sure anything you say is easy to respond to.