The Art of Conversation
Extend your hand, make eye contact, and smile saying, “Hello. My name is Deb Fine. It’s nice to meet you.
Debra Fine • The Fine Art of Small Talk: How to Start a Conversation, Keep It Going, Build Networking Skills -- and Leave a Positive Impression!
Dig deeper. When you engage in a conversation, don’t leave it too quickly.
Debra Fine • The Fine Art of Small Talk: How to Start a Conversation, Keep It Going, Build Networking Skills -- and Leave a Positive Impression!
• 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?,
... See moreDebra Fine • The Fine Art of Small Talk: How to Start a Conversation, Keep It Going, Build Networking Skills -- and Leave a Positive Impression!
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.
Dale Carnegie • How To Win Friends and Influence People
Phrases to useWhat makes you ask?What about ____ is important to you?How can I help make this better for us?How would you like me to proceed?What is it that brought us into this situation?How can we solve the problem?What’s the objective / What are we trying to accomplish here?How am I supposed to do that?
Yan-David Erlich • Yanda's Negotiation Cheat Sheet
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.
