Man being a Social being craves to be socially accepted, and to do this, he engages in social conversations.
Conversations are a necessity in building a social circle as it introduces you to people who could be your mentors, employers, employees, partners or friends.
In a world that is becoming more virtual by the day, being able to converse well, face to face, for whatever reason is more important now than ever.
Having meaningful conversations is something that can be learned and with focus and practice, we all can become better at it. Hence I would be dropping a few tips which I believe would be helpful in making meaningful conversations.
Conversation Tips
- Be generous with sincere compliments and smiles: A sure way to get a conversation off on a good start is to pay the other party a sincere compliment. This tip works especially well on ladies ( you all know that ladies love compliments), so if you want to have a conversation with a lady you have got your eye on, a nice way of starting a conversation with her is to pay her a sincere compliment.
Giving smiles also makes you approachable and welcoming to the other party. Remember that nobody would readily want to have a conversation with a sour faced person.
Don't make the conversation only about yourself, a monologue isn't a conversation: Talking to someone endlessly about something they aren't interested in, makes them feel like the conversation is all about you and they only happened to be there. Showing interest in the other person encourages the other person to be relaxed and more open about him/herself. People love to know that you are interested in what they have to say, so if you show some interest, they would talk more!
Practice active listening: Maintaining good eye contact and giving expressions are a good way to indicate interest in a person. Expressions such as "Hmm", "Really?", "wow", "oh, that's interesting" are reactionary bits of conversation that prove to the other person that you are listening.
Be polite with your speech: In Nigeria, a lot of attention is given to respect hence it is important to be polite in your conversation. The use of the words "sir" for an older man and "ma" or "ma'am" for an older woman might be a good idea. Avoid bringing up topics concerning religion, race, size or sex as subjects of discussion as they might offend the other party and this might lead to a heated argument. It is also important to maintain an open mind as the other party has a right to express him/herself even if you don't agree with what they are saying.
Be an interesting personality: Being an interesting personality dosen't mean you have to be an orator, a jester or an entertainer. Keeping yourself up to date with the latest news both internationally or locally, the latest hit songs, the latest technological discoveries, also makes you a very interesting person to converse with. If you are not well informed, you would not have much to talk about except yourself and this would make for a very dull conversation.
Practice: Being adept at anything requires practice and this dosen't exclude the art of conversation. Only exposure to many different social situations fine tunes your skills, so don't be discouraged if your first few attempts were a flop, keep at it!
Thanks for reading!