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5 Great Ways to Start a Super Conversation in a Group Situation
by Peter Murphy
Published on this site: August 26th, 2006 - See
more articles from this month
Starting a conversation is not always easy. Especially when you don't
feel comfortable with the people you are conversing with. There could
be an eerie feeling of awkwardness at the start of the interaction unless
you know the five secrets...
Here are five secrets to starting a great conversation with a group
of people:
- Get everyone involved.
When starting a conversation, introducing people to each other could
be necessary. That is if you don´t know each other or some of
those present don't.
Then, connect one of your group to the topic you are talking about by
inviting him to contribute. Or you might simply relate one person to
another with their commonalities to encourage dialogue.
- Choose a topic.
When starting your conversation, choose a general topic. One that
everyone can relate to. This will let everyone feel that they belong.
This is a great way to encourage everyone to share ideas.
- Do not drill with questions.
This should be avoided especially when asking one person only. The
person may feel that he or she is facing a firing squad. Asking too
many questions to a person may let him or her feel uncomfortable.
By doing so you might give that person a reason to leave the conversation.
The others may also feel uncomfortable with this - they might think
that they will be asked next!
- Break the ice.
At first, there may be awkwardness among the group. You can work
to break the ice. Each one of the members is just waiting for someone
to
do this. You can do this by cracking a joke to make them laugh. You
can also start by telling a story. This may lead them to share their
story, too. Then, everything will follow.
- Ask open-ended questions.
These require a more than yes or no answer. These questions will
make the flow of your conversation much smoother if done intelligently.
These questions can even lead you to another topic.
Asking questions allows you to quickly test the waters to see which
topics people are interested in discussing. Just be careful to ask with
a pleasing tone.
It is not necessary that you use all of these tips or to use them in
order. You can choose which ones are most appropriate for the situations
you find yourself in. What matters is using these tips to kick off a conversation
on a positive upbeat tone.
Peter Murphy is a peak performance expert. He recently produced
a very popular free report: 10 Simple Steps to Developing Communication
Confidence. This report reveals the secret strategies all high achievers
use to communicate with charm and impact. Apply now because it is available
for a limited time only at: http://www.howtotalkwithconfidence.com/report.htm
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