Learn more about communication with this collection
How to network effectively
How to read body language
How to find common ground with others
Leapfrog over the expected response
A way to carry on a conversation is to skip over the expected response.
Instead of:
Ron: "How was your flight?"
Carlos: "My flight was good."
Carlos could be bold and say, "I'd be more intrigued by an airline where your ticket price was based on your IQ."
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960 reads
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How to get beyond small talk
Ask open-ended questions that invite people to tell stories, rather than one-word answers.
Instead of "How was your day?" try, "What did you do today?" Other open-ended questions to try:
- "What's your story?"
- "What's the ...
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1.02K reads
Awkward conversations with strangers
In a situation where people are gathered together, it always involves people trying to talk to each other. In these moments, we often fall short and can't think of anything to say, or worse; we fumble through with the aim of not crashing.
However, we can soar in conversations and learn to ...
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997 reads
Practice the art of disruption
When small talk dries up, it's often due to "mirroring." In our efforts to be polite, we answer questions directly, repeat their observations, or just agree with whatever they say.
For example, one person would say, "It's a beautiful day," and we might answer, "Yes, it's a beautiful da...
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922 reads
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Leapfrog Over the Expected Response
Instead of:
Ron: How was your flight?
Carlos: My flight was good!
Beverly: It’s hot today.
Gino: Yeah, it sure is hot.
Riz: What’s up?
Keil: Hey, what’s up?
Try:
Ron: How was your flight?
Carlos: I’d be more i...
Getting over embarrassing situations: Make repairs
If you made a fool out of yourself and real harm was done, plan to follow up with the person involved.
Be prepared to make amends. For example, "I feel bad about spilling my drink on your dress, and I'd love to have it dry cleaned for you." You'll come across as having good interpersonal s...
Every story has two sides
You could tell everything as a tragedy, or you could tell an equally valid and far kinder story. You could say that you made some serious errors, as every human will, and you paid the price for them. Nevertheless, you tried to be good and loved a few people properly. Despite ever...
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