Small Talk by Kathy Schmidt

Author:Kathy Schmidt
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Small Talk
ISBN: 9781741106190
Publisher: New Holland Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd
Published: 2009-09-25T16:00:00+00:00

7

GETTING TO

KNOW SOMEONE

‘Getting to know someone is like a dance—you gently lead, careful not to drive, push or drag them around.’

John Thomas

Meeting people for the first time can sometimes be awkward and stressful. Regardless of the social setting you find yourself in, when talking to someone you don’t know, usually the conversation starts off well and you seem to be really hitting it off. However, it’s not too long before all the usual formalities of names and jobs etc have been covered and panic begins to set in as conversation slows and looks like it’s heading for the inevitable uncomfortable silence. It is in this moment that you have a couple of minutes to decide whether to take the conversation from just a ‘How are you?’ to a more engaging ‘Who are you?’. The only way to keep going is to ask the right questions without coming across as the Spanish Inquisitor.

This can be difficult. When meeting my friend’s cousin for the first time, I was eager to get to know him and wanted to make him feel comfortable. I asked him numerous questions trying to generate some conversation. Maybe it was that he felt trapped being in a car, but his response was ‘What is this? Twenty questions or something?’

The trick is to ask the right questions. By asking engaging questions you have the opportunity to get to know others. You can build rapport, stretch peoples minds by being creative, encourage them to share experiences and show an interest in others opinions and points of view. By having a few questions up your sleeve you can go beyond awkward silence and converse more easily with anyone in social, family, academic, business or public arenas.

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