You're
at your in-law's house, or the home of a friend of a friend. You want
to be a great guest, but after 10 minutes, you have nothing to say.
You'll be there for another 24 hours, so what can you do? The secret is
to be a wonderful listener, and keep the host talking!
Here are 2.5 ways to keep talking - and maybe make a friendship stronger.
Ask
your host about his hobbies. Decide you will learn 3 things about his
hobby, whatever it is. (It might come in handy some day to know this
information.) When your host stops talking, say "tell me more about
___", or "that ___ sounds fascinating!" and nod appreciatively.
Ask
follow-up questions. For example, "You said that you enjoy ___. How did
you get into it/learn so much about it/find the time to do it?" You can
also ask questions about the gear needed to do the hobby, or his
favorite publications on this hobby. (This information may be useful if
you buy him a gift later on.)
The
.5 method is to use interjections liberally, complete with great eye
contact and slightly leaning forward. Interjections are comments such as
"mmm-hmm", "wow, that's impressive!", "you don't say!" and "really?"
With a great start to the conversation and a talkative host, this
technique can keep a conversation going for a long time!
Business Speech Improvement offers more conversational tips for the conversationally-challenged in the e-book Small Talk: Connecting with Others.
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