Starting a conversation
What is the best way to start a conversation?
Look for a common interest, mention that common interest and trade information with the person
How do you join a conversation?
Listen to the conversation, watch from a distance, find a common interest, move closer and wait for a pause
What is one way you can keep the conversation going?
Ask the other person about him/herself
Answer your own questions
Find common interests
Share the Conversation
How do we stay on topic?
Ask questions about that topic
Remember - why, where, what, when, how questions?
How can we tell if someone is interested or not interested?
Look at their face, body language and tone of voice
Casually look over
What is step one to joining a conversation?
What type of questions can you ask to keep a conversation going?
Who, what, why, where, when, how
What type of comments can you make to stay on topic?
Provide comments that are related to their conversation
I like ____
I also___
I went ____
I am going ____
What is body language and give one example
Look at the person body and see what it is trying to tell you
Arms crossed, body facing the other way
What is the last step in starting a conversation?
Introduce yourself, if you've never met
What is the last step in joining a conversation?
Introduce yourself, if you've never met
Ask a question
"I am going out tonight"
- Where are you going?
- Who are you going with?
Wait for the right time to change the topic
Use a phrase to prepare the person for a change in topic (e.g. “By the way, did you hear ____")
Begin discussing the new topic
What is facial expression and give one example
The look on someone's face
smiling, frowning, yawning, nodding head
What is a common interest?
A common interest is something that two people both like such as a toy, activity, game, hobbie, movie, TV show etc.,
Why is it important to wait for a pause in the conversation before joining?
If you don’t wait for a brief pause, you may be interrupting the conversation
Why is it important to ask the person about themselves?
this is how you discover their interests, hobbies, and likes; it helps you discover if you have common interests
Name phrases that you can use to shift a topic
By the way did you hear about __
Hey did you know that __
Speaking of __
What is tone of voice and give an example
angry, happy, bored, frustrated
How do you check if someone is interested in the conversation?
- They are talking to you
- They are looking at you
- They are smiling
- They are facing you
When joining a conversation why is mentioning the topic important?
This is your reason for joining the conversation and it shows you want to talk about that topic and shows your interested in talking to them
Why is it important to share the conversation?
This is how we trade information and get to know one another. Give the person a chance to ask you a question or make a comment - pause occasionally to let the other person have the conversation
Don’t be a conversation hog
Do not take control of the conversation
Do not brag about yourself
Try not to interrupt
Let the other person talk
Ask the person what they like
What can we do if we don't know much about the topic someone is talking about?
Ask questions about the topic. This will help you learn and understand more about it!
Listen and give the person a chance to talk about their interest. Ask a question and make a comment.
How can you end a conversation?
Use a phrases such as:
“Well I have to go”
“It was nice talking to you, see you later.”
“I need to get going”