Conversation Questions Mastery Part 2/2:
I can give you some great questions to keep conversation going…
And I actually do so here:
Excellent Conversation Questions For Conversational Mastery.
But I much rather give you some powerful strategies to keep a conversation flowing smoothly.
These 2 simple strategies are easy to master and will make you an interesting conversationalist. And…
… you will enjoy having conversations with these tools in your back pocket because you won’t be worrying constantly about questions to keep the conversation going!
Why TOOLS Instead Of QUESTIONS To Keep Conversation Going?
Because tools give you freedom in conversation! And tools will give you conversational mastery once you get them under control.
Plus your conversations will become interesting and deep faster!
TOOL 1:
- Wide and deep rapport
You can ask questions to keep conversation going, or you can focus really well on the actual conversation.
Someone that has good conversation skills can talk about a lot of different topics. Or you can at least be curious about the passion someone has speaking on a specific topic.
Wide rapport is basically talking about a lot of different topics. But it’s pretty superficial. Think about topics like the weather, sports, current things happening in the media, who you know, what the other person is wearing, your surroundings etc.
When you want to get to know someone better though, you want to -after wide rapport- get more personal.
Here’s how to do this:
Say you are talking about some topics and you find a topic you guys both like. You can then get personal and ask questions around the person’s experience around that topic.
Say you like traveling a lot, and your conversational partner likes that as well. Then you dive in deep. By that I mean you cover the whole topic in detail. You milk it for what it’s worth; it’s something you both like talking about after all!
- What’s your favorite travel destination? Why?
- What‘s your most bizarre travel experience
- Where do you want to travel next?
- What culture did you find most fascinating
- What foods did you find the weirdest
- Etc.
Now these are not per se questions to keep conversation going, they’re more questions that get more personal.
And you also ask them because you’re interested in them. You get to know the person, and you are probably excited to tell your own stories as well!
TOOL 2:
- Be curious
If you are very, very curious you can keep a conversation going for days. There is so much you don’t know about a person, that when you adopt a mindset of curiosity, you can keep figuring out great things about the people you meet.
I have met the craziest people with the most fascinating stories.
People that shoot guns for fun, people that bike all over the world, people that have hitchhiked through complete continents, people that went to Antarctica, you name it!
If you are really curious it’s awesome to talk to new people.
Most people are fascinating. Develop this mindset, it makes your conversation skills awesome. And, more importantly, it makes interacting with people a ball of fun!
Find out what people’s beliefs are, their values, their passions, their likes and dislikes, their tastes, their ideas their quirks and best stories.
That’s more fun and enjoyable for both parties than to be asking questions to keep conversation going…
Ow, and if they ask you why you want to know, you simply and honestly say “I’m just curious” or “I’m just a very curious person”.
Stop asking questions to keep conversation going, start becoming curious and get personal once you find a topic that you both like and connect on.
Good Luck!