Walking up to the people you haven’t met before is not that easy as it seems. Moreover, striking a conversation is even harder. It is risky, however, interesting and fun. What does it actually take to try to talk to someone who you don’t know but have an urge to talk to? What does it take to say a simple hello?
You never know where the conversation might lead you. All these things sound easy, well they are absolutely not. Talking to people, you don’t know can make you explore the world and its people on a broader level. There are no specific reasons to talk to strangers. It is like solving a mechanical problem to solve. It can be a matter of talking to a person or a group of people. In a pair, you have more chance to interact with that person; you actually want to talk to. Pen down things in your mind and take notes from your experience. You need to pay attention to the reactions you are getting, that will remind you where to stop or where to take charge. You should be extra careful with the conversation as you are the one initiating. Whether you are a male or female, both have the same conducts to follow as first interaction needs to be polite and interesting.
The main principle to start a conversation or when trying to talk to a stranger is to be respectful and attentive. The chivalry is the only thing which can make a conversation with a stranger more interesting and memorable. If you are not respectful or poise, you can end up becoming threatening and intrusive one. Try to keep a decent amount of distance and being polite are the two major things that you need to follow. If people are not showing any sign to talk then there is no use of pushing them unnecessarily. Remember talking to strangers usually does not leave a very good impression on people. So if you are taking the initiative to talk to a stranger, make sure you are polite and respectful. There can be many misunderstanding if you do not try and take the precautions. The context of the conversation matters the most.
The only thing which will take you far will be your way how respectfully you talk. It is a risk worth taking, which can make you have a person you want in your life. Complexity is high in these cases, but the depth of the conversation you are successful in having can make that positive. Sharpen your awareness before you actually go and talk. Warm yourself up and then get to the business. Observe the public behavior and prepare the right frame in your mind. Let us dive in the ways you can start a conversation with a stranger.
#1. Take Charge Of Yourself To Go Out Alone
You do not have to attend the events, parties, and exhibitions only with friends and family. Learn to go out alone and pamper yourself. If you go alone, you will be talking to strangers automatically. If you have someone you know, it will be very hard for you to talk to other people you are not familiar with. You tend to talk to only the people you are familiar with, if you just go with friends and family. Go alone and find a new companion. In such cases, you will automatically learn to take initiatives and to talk to the people who are not familiar.
#2. Prepare Yourself To Take An Initiative
Once you start attending the events and parties all by your own, you will realize that you have to be ready to take initiatives to talk to someone you have an urge to talk to. Be like a social butterfly, whether you are a guy or a girl. Just standing and waiting in a corner that someone will come and approach you will provide you nothing more than disappointment. Do not think it is a very big deal to go and talk to someone. It is a waste of time to psych yourself because of this thoughts.
#3. Watch The Circumstances Around And Act Accordingly
You necessarily need to look at the circumstances around and learn from them. It is better to take precautions and notice everything before taking initiative. Choose a comfortable place to sit back and observe the person you want to talk. Notice their gestures with your full presence. Take a look at the place they are sitting, their style to dress or anything that can help you to start a conversation. If there is a big crowd at the place, it will be easier to notice them without letting them know. Then slow your mind down and figure out a way to initiate.
#4. Use Nonverbal Or Gestures Before You Go And Talk Directly
Some people find it very uncomfortable if you start talking to them and they don't know them. However, the whole drill is the same thing; to make an impression of yourself before even taking the initiative. Before you start walking to them to talk, play with your gestures for a little while! This will make them know that you are somewhere interested in talking to them. Get to someone’s head non verbally but physically, turning to them to start a conversation. Make eye contact or probably a smile. If that works, make a toast to establish a connection before even walking towards them.
#5. Do Not Talk About Weather At Any Cost
Spare yourself and the person you are talking to from extreme boredom. You definitely don’t want to start a boring conversation; weather topics are, however, extremely boring. The person might roll their eyes and walk out if you will start with weather or cheesy pickup lines. These lines or conversations never give enough room for the conversation to grow and expand. People prefer to stand alone than getting into a conversation like this. Just start light and with a nice “hello” will work for the few starting minutes. You can see where the conversation goes from there.
#6. Start By Introducing Yourself
Once you start to have a conversation, introduce yourself. The interaction should be light and direct in the first few minutes. Knowing a little bit about each other will give a smooth foundation to follow up! In order to build a strong interaction, you need to start right. The best way is to offer with your name and ask theirs. Once a decent handshake is done, you can engage them to tell you how are they or what do they do. An approach of etiquette and full of chivalrous gestures will never disappoint you.
#7. Talk About Common Interests, Passion And Ask Open-Ended Questions
Making new friends and sharing information can be confusing at times. Therefore, the best way is to find the common interests, so that you have topics that you both tend to enjoy naturally. You never know, you also might learn something new about the interest. Not every stranger you are going to meet will be your best friend, so you need to discover your common interest to make the conversation durable and enjoyable. Try and ask the questions which have answers that have opinions related. The questions should encourage conversation, not kill them. Try and opt for some open-ended questions which can be relevant and interesting.
#8. Pick Safe Topics And Keep The Conversation Flowing
Until and unless you want to have a debate with someone, try and stick to the topics which are rather safe and can flow smoothly in the conversation. If you will pick the topic that can fuel the fire of an argument, then there is no chance that you will ever get a second conversation with them. A topic related to politics or religion can be dangerous for the first conversation. Therefore, try and avoid such topics. Try and opt the topics of books, movie or travel for that matter. You may be prepared to stick to a tempted topic but let the conversation flow at its own pace.
#9. Let Your Individuality Shine Through
Project the kind of personality you possess and do not hide from what you are. An individualistic feature makes you even attractive. Just because you want to talk to them, do not agree on anything that you don’t believe in. Do not get afraid to disagree. Even if you don’t agree on something, try and keep it light and take it in a good sense of humor. Above all, do not hide your real personality. Be yourself, and everything else will follow. The time they will discover fakeness if you are not yourself, it will be the end of your conversation. Therefore, it is so easier and better to embrace yourself and shine through your personality.
#10. Realize Where To End The Conversation
You will realize whether the conversation was a success or a flop after a point of time. The more important thing is to know when to wrap it up. A long first conversation can sometimes bore the other person. The motto is to make them crave for more. If you have realized early in the conversation, that it is not working out, find a smooth and painless way to leave the conversation and move on. Also, in a case of a hit conversation, just know when they want to do something else, probably meet their friend or want to go somewhere. Just know the accurate time to end the conversation. Do not forget to take the digits or email address to meet up again. Then you are good to leave the day high on your success.
This was our guide about how to start a conversation with a stranger. Let us know your thoughts as well about this in the comment section below.
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We all go through the phase of parents telling us “do not talk to strangers”. However, it is
fun and interesting sometimes. It is kind of funny that there was a time when we used to
ignore talking to strangers and now we are actually finding ways to talk to strangers
efficiently. It is actually ironically true. I am definitely fascinated by this topic. In the young
age we are taught to not talk to a stranger, and now we are learning how to talk to them.
Therefore, I guess it becomes more interesting to talk about it. I believe, the starting should
be done by a little warm up. Before getting into a conversation, you need to warm up a
little. First of all, to avoid a cold or debate conversation, you need to have an approach
which is gentle and warm. To send a friend signal it is important to keep your approach
right. Talking to a stranger for the first time can be a little tricky as well at times. Think about
every possibility that can turn if you talk to a stranger. Just consider every circumstance
before you get into a conversation. Once you have approached a person there is no
looking back. Our brain is very quick to respond, therefore make no mistake before talking
to a person. The brain can make a personal friend to foe in seconds. There are some
physical signals as well which can tell you the body language of the other person is
comfortable with you or not. People usually remain eye contact when they want to keep the
conversation going or maybe they will use hand gestures and smile a lot while talking. You
need to notice all of these things when you are in between a conversation. Once you are
done approached someone, it is very important to have a conversation which is both
durable and interesting. I believe cheesy pickup lines and flirt does not really work these
days. So sticking to your personality is very important in order to have an amazing first
conversation.