As you may have noticed from the social situations youâve had post lockdown, people are a little rusty when it comes to their conversation skills.
Here are some things to work on:
Be Present. Sorry, thereâs no mute button IRL and no way to hide that youâre texting instead of listening. You need to be actively participating in the conversation and making it clear to the person youâre talking to that theyâre heard and valued. Acknowledge the things that say and every once in a while, check in on your body language. You donât want to send any non-verbal signals that youâre distracted or bored...even if itâs true.
Find Common Ground. If youâre not great at feigning interest in peopleâs stories, start asking questions youâre genuinely interested in and find some things you have in common with whomever youâre speaking to. Sometimes it takes a little more digging but thereâs always something both sides of a conversation enjoy blabbing about.
Donât Plan. The only thing worse than a bad conversation is a forced conversation. And thatâs how youâll come across if you start dipping into canned questions of lines. Itâs always better to let things move naturally and be patient if things donât click right away.
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