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The single best advice I ever got on conversation is “ask questions the other person will enjoy answering” which sounds insultingly obvious, but almost nobody does it, and it instantly makes conversations vastly more fun.
A deep question asks someone about their values, beliefs or experiences. Rather than asking someone about the facts of their life (“Where do you live?”) it asks how they feel about their life. (“What’s the best part of where you live?”) Studies show that people love answering deep questions, because it gives us a chance... See more
Susan Cain • How to turn "small talk" into Big Talk
“Don’t worry about being the most interesting person in the room, just try to be the most interested person in the room.
• The interested person asks about others and leaves a good impression because people like talking about themselves.
• The interested person is genuinely curious about someone’s craft and learns a lot about how things work.
• The
James Clear • 3-2-1: Starting the new year the right way, how to stay focused, and a lesson on long-term thinking
So if you aspire to be a good conversationalist, be an attentive listener. To be interesting, be interested. Ask questions that other persons will enjoy answering. Encourage them to talk about themselves and their accomplishments.