Conversation
A good conversation is comfortable, effortless and smooth. It's an enjoyable exchange of ideas, thoughts or feelings. To be a good conversationalist, you need to know how to:
Ask questions that:
make your conversation partner want to speak,
let them know it's their turn to speak,
are questions you can also answer, and
are "open-ended;" in other words, they can't be answered with one word.
Listen
Be truly interested in what your partner is saying.
Listen actively--look in the other person's eyes while they talk.
Summarize what they just said so they know you heard them.
Share something that inspires your partner to share in return. The more you reveal about yourself, the more comfortable people will be to share things about themselves. Be careful--don't immediately "overshare" (start with just two or three sentences.)
Gauge the comfort level of your conversation partner and adapt to it. If he/she seems uncomfortable, change the subject or ask a less-intimate version of your question.
Choose an interesting topic. Where you are and why you are there generally will give you plenty to discuss, but there is always one topic everyone likes to talk about--themselves.
Use body language and gestures to liven up your conversation or, if you are speaking with someone who doesn't speak your native language, help communicate what you are trying to say.
Vocabulary can be both a challenge and an opportunity. If your partner uses vocabulary you don't know, you can use it as an opportunity to learn by asking them what it means. People usually appreciate someone who is trying to speak their language, so they are generally far less judgmental and far more helpful than you might think.
Here are some sample questions:
What’s keeps you busy outside of work? What did you do this weekend? How has your day been?
What brings you to this event? How do you know the people here?
What would you like to know more about?
Where are you from? How long have you lived here/there? Would you like to move back there? What experiences have you had that made you the person you are today?
What do you do for a living? Have you always done that? What did you do before? What is your dream job?
How do you celebrate your birthday/Christmas?
What do/don’t you like about (where you live/what you do/what is happening)?
What has the highlight of your year been so far?
On a scale of one to ten, how has your been?
Could I get your advice on something?
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