a group of three or more look around in the hope that others will maintain eye contact on their behalf. Yet people don’t feel listened to if you’re not looking at them. • Get somebody to talk about why they’re attending the event. You are now on your way to engaging them in conversation. • Show an interest in every person. The more interest you sho

• Be careful with business acquaintances. You wouldn’t want to open a conversation with: How’s your job at______? What if that person just got fired or laid off? Be careful when you’re asking about an acquaintance’s spouse or special friend; you could regret it. • Don’t act like you’re an FBI agent. Questions like What do you do?, Are you married?,

We become better conversationalists when we employ two primary objectives. Number one: Take the risk. It is up to us to take the risk of starting a conversation with a stranger.

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.