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#1 (permalink) |
Pasture Bedtime
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Conversation starters
This post brought to you by Guttersnipe's weather post.
It sounds like we all know that SO HOW'S THE WEATHER EH is the most boring thing ever. So what's a good, all-purpose conversation starter? Obviously you would bring up a common interest if you were in a class together or met through a mutual friend, but when you can think of nothing specific or interesting to say, what can you fall back on? |
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#4 (permalink) |
Please touch this.
Owner/Admin
Location: Manhattan
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"Could you help me for a second? I seem to have lost my congressional medal of honor..."
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You have found this post informative. -The Administrator [Don't Feed The Animals] |
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#5 (permalink) |
King Knave
Location: Lancaster
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AAfter the weather comes sports.
but since I've never been one to quip,"How 'bout them Eagles?" I've been known to ask Whats Poppin? or How Goes It? or Whats YOUR Mothers maiden name? generally though it all comes back to "The Weather"
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AzAbOv ZoBeLoE |
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#6 (permalink) |
shit faced cockmaster
Location: CT
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If you want to find common ground I have found family guy as a great one. Everyone seems to love it. "hey do you watch family guy" and it just sky rockets from there.
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"To alcohol! The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems." |
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#7 (permalink) |
Insane
Location: Vancouver
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Have you seen *insert blockbuster movie here*?
Even if they haven't, it tends to lead to celebrity gossip which can fill up a little bit of time, even if it seems totally lame. Same idea with music and singers. When you actually want a conversation instead of just filling awkward silences: I was reading this book and it had the most interesting fact...*works if you really read a book with an interesting fact* What sort of person were you like in high school/college/etc. Did you hear the news? *state news* That is all.
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-poor is the man whose pleasure depends on the permission of another- |
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#12 (permalink) |
I change
Location: USA
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Thinking of what to say before you have to say it is sort of like rehearsing lines for a play which may or may not ever make it to the stage.
I talk to strangers all the time and never have an issue finding things to talk about. This is because conversation naturally issues from the moment of encounter, doesn't it? There is usually something happening in the immediate environment that is fun to comment on. People wear interesting clothing or do interesting things - or interesting things happen during the personal encounter. All these are what makes conversation happen. I don't think I'd be a very good conversationalist if I were to rehearse a couple of standard lines or topics to be cut and pasted into real-life situations.
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create evolution |
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#14 (permalink) | |
My own person -- his by choice
Location: Lebell's arms
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Smile and focus on the other person. I'm with ARTelevision,
Quote:
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If you can go deeply into lovemaking, the ego disappears. That is the beauty of lovemaking, that it is another source of a glimpse of god It's not about being perfect; it's about developing some skill at managing imperfection. |
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#15 (permalink) |
I'm not a blonde! I'm knot! I'm knot! I'm knot!
Location: Upper Michigan
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I normally just ask a lot of questions. Things like "Where are you from?" What kind of work do you do?" One excellent one is "Do you have any children?" People LOVE to talk about themselves, and if they have children that's even better. As they tell you about themselves you'll find more things to ask or say and the conversation naturally progresses. I don't pick any particular conversation starter - I just follow the moment. What's going on, where we are, what they look like tells me a lot about what they are going to be more interested in talking about. Showing interest in their lives is about all you have to do to get someone to talk.
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"Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama My Karma just ran over your Dogma. ![]() |
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#19 (permalink) |
Insane
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I took this animal behavior class once, and in it I learned all sorts of bizarre trivia that stuck with me. Things like, "Hey, did you know besides humans, ducks are the most homosexual animal on the planet?" or "Hey... did you know bees can't see the color red?" Or "Hey... do you know what a naked mole-rat is? Did you know that it can eat its own fecal-matter three times over and still get sufficient nutritional sustinance out of it??"
I use these and factoids like them ALL the time while waiting around at the busstop with a bunch of strangers. I've made a lot of "bus friends" this way with repeat customers! |
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#22 (permalink) | |
Pasture Bedtime
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Not, um, that you're around anymore to read this. |
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#23 (permalink) |
don't ignore this-->
Location: CA
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I agree with ARTelevision first and foremost, starting a conversation usually springs from the environment you share. By being in the same place you immediately have something in common and can work from there.
Raeanna and rogue's advice are ok for starting a conversation, but even better for keeping one going. If there's one topic you can be sure someone is an expert in, it's themselves ![]()
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I am the very model of a moderator gentleman. |
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#26 (permalink) |
Psycho
Location: YOUR MOM!!
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F.O.R.M.
Family Occupation Recreation Money Use this formula and you will know all you need to about the person... if they are interesting... ask for details in any.
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And now here I stand because of you, Mister Anderson, because of you I'm no longer an agent of the system, because of you I've changed... |
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#27 (permalink) | |
Justified
Location: West Lafayette, IN
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Take notice. Take interest. Take me with you. |
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#29 (permalink) |
Observant Ruminant
Location: Rich Wannabe Hippie Town
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I'm very good at not talking -- took some practice, but I'm more than happy to stare at somebody silently if I have nothing to say. Okay, I smile so it doesn't seem too creepy. Kind of takes the anxiety out of random encounters. And without that anxiety, it's paradoxically pretty easy to start a conversation, if I think there's actually worth talking about.
Actually, the best conversation starter is to offer assistance to somebody who needs it. But not if they don't, 'cause then you're just posing. |
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conversation, starters |
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