Conversation are links. Let's imagine every conversation to be a tiny metal link. Every time you talk to a stranger, a metal link is formed. And every conversation that you have after that moment, the link gets stronger and stronger. And everyday each one of us meets so many strangers: the grocery guy, the cab guy, maybe the receptionist at a new office you went to. With every conversation, we build new links. Until finally at the end, we've created a kind of massive World Wide Web of conversation. That's it, right? A conversation. It's a fascinating thing. A conversation is an adventure. A conversation gives you a whole new perspective. A conversation opens a door. Conversations can make war and conversations can make peace. And conversations define who we are as a human race.
Think about this. Every single person in your life was once a stranger to you. And you knew nothing about them until you had that first conversation.
How do you talk to a stranger?
Strangers, they are everywhere. And we've always been told, "Don't talk to strangers!". But i beg to differ. Every stranger comes with an opportunity, an opportunity to learn something new, an opportunity to have an experience you've never had or hear a story that you've never heard before. And you've had that moment, right?
You're in a room with someone you don't know, and you look across the room, you see a stranger, and you think, "I want to talk to this person." And you can almost hear the first word but it just won't come out, it kind of gets stuck on your mouth. You know what. Here's my advice: just say it. What's the worst that can happen? They want to talk to you. Well, they're not talking to you now.
- The first word floodgates. I truly believe that the first word acts as a floodgate. You know, once you said the first word, everything else just flows. So keep it simple. A "Hi," a "Hey," a "Hello." And do what every good bowler does. Just gather the enthusiasm, the positivity, the energy, put on a big smile and say, "Hi!" I know. There's going to be that strange moment.
- Skip the small talk. Honestly, if we get stuck in the rut of: "Hi!" "Hey!" "How are you?" "I'm fine." "What's going on?" "Nothing much." your time gets wasted. So, skip the small talk and ask a really personal question. And don't be afraid. Trust me. You will be surprised how much people are willing to share if you just ask.
- Find the Me too. You know, nothing kills a conversation like a negative answer. When you find the "me too", you automatically have a kind of buy-in from the other person.
- Pay a unique compliment. Be generous and go out and give someone a nice full compliment. Pay a unique and genuine compliment.
- Ask for an opinion. All of us have opinions. And we all want them to be heard. And everybody wants validation.
- Be present. You know, when someone's trying to communicate with you, the least you can do is really be in that conversation. Just be wholeheartedly present. Just be there. And make eye contact.
That's pretty much of it. Hope you like it.
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