How to Find Things to Talk About

I hate awkward silences. Really, really hate. Not that I don't like profoundly intelligent silences, but the awkward kind are completely not acceptable. That used to happen to me a lot. To the point that I used to avoid meeting a new person. Why? Oh because I dreaded that the conversation would be filled with awkward silences, coz let's face it, there was hardly anything much I would ever have known about a new person. And the known topics would get over real fast...after that what? So this happened until the day I realized how to make sure that the awkward silences never happened. I chanced upon the trick of how to find things to talk about! And I'm sure you want to know as well about how to get the conversation flowing. So here goes, the following article will tell you all about how to initiate conversation in different situations, with different people. Read, read and check.

Things to Talk About on a Date

The basic rule of starting and maintaining a conversation? Yeah, just talk about the other person. Things about them and related to them. Seriously. People love nothing more than talking about themselves. And not like an egoistic deal, it's just the way we are built and most of the time we end up doing it unconsciously. So if you learn how to get the conversation flowing with some of the guaranteed conversation starters then you'll be pleasantly surprised at the minimal breaks in conversation that will happen.

Given below are a few topics that are guaranteed topics that will get the conversation flowing. And I anticipate that some of you will go 'I knew that', but...knowing and putting it into action are two completely different concepts. How to put them into action and how to make small talk is what you'll learn below.

Friends and Family
Friends and what one does with those friends is one of the topics that can enthrall any person for long. Start asking questions about his/her friend and see how the conversation starts rolling. Don't be dull and ask mundane questions like What are your friends' names? or What do they do? Make it more interesting by asking questions like What is the craziest thing you've done with your friends? or Who is the most daring friend you have. It's definitely not mundane and they'll start talking. Advantage? You'll know a little something more about them. As far as a family is concerned, tread a little carefully. Don't ask really personal questions when you don't know the person. But get them talking it will.

Job
There needs to be no introduction given about how a job becomes important to someone. So then just ask what they do, how they do it, whether they enjoy doing what they do. Ask about annoying company rules or co-workers who get on their nerves. People love talking about their jobs and you don't need to sugarcoat this one - just be direct and there will still be no problem getting them to talk.

Hobbies/Common Interests
Another interesting one. And here is where you can turn the conversation to fun topics to talk about. This one does not have to be dull and drab. In fact, you can take it a step further and start talking about your common interests so that your 'fun', 'serious' or 'whacky' side shines through as well (Depending on how the conversation flows).

But what if there are no common interests and you're done asking about the hobbies? Get in some random, silly ones. Here's how you get in some topics that are not the run of the mill ones. Go on a random question-answer round - something like:

• Would you ever wear a pink shirt or are you averse to that color? (If it's a guy)
• Would you ever go bungee jumping?
• Would you prefer a dare or the truth?
• Have you ever done something stupid because of a crush?
• What is the craziest thing you've done in college?
• Would you rather walk a hundred miles or sit in a bus next to a person with bad breath and body odor and no escape route.

These are some random first date conversation topics that cannot offend anyone and they'll also give you an insight into the person's life. In fact you can also try to add some witty ones or those that border on flirting.

One Last Trick
I'll let you in on another trick that proves to be very effective when learning how to start a conversation. When awkward silences start happening, they seem to accumulate more and more. Partly because you don't know the person and partly because of the pressure you put on yourself. How to get rid of that? First, be very, very calm (Try, try). And two, literally prepare yourself. Make a mental note of the things you'll be talking about and don't let the silences creep in. It really works. And if you don't get fidgety and restless it'll work wonders. You will take some time to get it into action, no doubt, but if you just revolve around the above topics (for starters) it'll definitely work.

And that's it. That's all there is to finding things to talk about. All you need to do is tune in to the other person, understand what they are all about and once you get them talking with these small tricks, there will never be a dearth of topics. Like I said - never an awkward silence with me now.