The art of conversation is easy, if you remember a few simple guidelines.

If you do, you will never be at a loss for words again and can handle any social situation with confidence.

Everyone has found themselves at one time or another caught up in this type of situation, and for many, it feels shameful and uncomfortable:

You’re facing a complete stranger and you want more than anything to break the silence that’s making you and the person you’re with feel awkward.

So how do you do that?

In these situations, you need some foolproof ways to break the ice and start a conversation.

The first rule of conversational art is simple:

1. Ask open-ended questions

If something is being sold by a good seller, they always want to keep the conversation going and will never ask a question, anyone where you can say no to their product or service.

For example, you will not hear them say:

Do you want to buy this insurance policy?

You can say no of course and that makes selling more difficult for them. Maybe they’ll phrase the question like:

What do you think of politics?

Now of course they can say “nothing” but that is very unlikely.

They will say they like it or they like it or vice versa.

This allows the salesperson to keep the conversation flowing and approaching.

They ask questions that will open their horizons, and while you’re not in a sell mode, your goal is the same.

So in social status how does it work?

Say you’re at dinner and eat what you’d say, “This chicken tastes good.”

You can add something to the question to get an answer for example:

“This chicken tastes so good. I had a great meal at Ivy’s that night. Where do you like to eat?”

You are forcing them to take a cue from you and if there is silence they will be glad you did, because they might be just as nervous as you are.

Silence between two people indicates that they do not have the art of conversation, so they will be relieved if you try to talk to them first.

Let’s take another example.

You want to compliment a woman on her dress. You don’t say “I love your dress” you’re likely to get a polite “thank you.”

“Try I love your dress where did you get it from?”

This forces more than a closed quick response.

Once you have an answer in any store. You have a lot of options for opening the conversation:

“Where is that?” “My wife trades there” etc. “I really like the classic methods that I watched so and so on TV” etc

Your goal is to get the dialogue flowing.

Some other tips to keep in mind are:

2. Be relaxed

A relaxed person is a friendly person and that puts people at ease instantly. Be polite, non-confrontational, and smile often, everyone responds to a friendly person.

You are comfortable and that puts them at ease.

3. Take cues from where you are

If you’re really committed, talk about where you are.

Decor can be fun, so say:

Really love the decor What do you think of this color scheme?

Don’t just say you like it, ask them what they think and make them respond
4. Use topical topics

Again, if you’re stuck on an editorial idea, think of something in the news that’s relevant and ask what they think.

Don’t use controversial topics that could be offensive, there are a lot of topical topics to discuss that they will likely know something about and you will get them involved.

The key is to engage those you’re talking to and have them talk to you, once that’s done the conversation will generally flow.

Keep in mind that if there is silence, they will probably feel as embarrassed as you are and will be glad that you have the art of conversation.