What book would you recommend to someone starting out in their career?Ħ. What is the greatest lesson you have learned from one of your enemies?Ĥ. What is the best piece of advice you can offer to a recent college graduate?Ģ. “The last few weeks I have been asking everyone I meet this one question…”ġ. I love life lessons and career/life advice so the questions below are what I use, but with that intro, it can go any number of ways. It gets people interested in what you are about to say and is a refreshing change from the standard, “ What do you do?” type of question. I am working on an article and over the last few weeks I have been asking everyone I meet this one question…”īut in reality, writer or not, “ The last few weeks I have been asking everyone I meet this one question…” is just as effective. I can now reframe every question from, “ Sorry to bother you, do you mind if I ask you a question?” to “ Hey guys, sorry to interrupt. It was not until recently my eyes opened to the true power of writing: I have carte blanche to talk to anyone. Then I realized that influencers were a little bit more likely to talk to me. Reframing Ordinary Questions Into Interesting Onesįor the longest time, I thought that having a few big name magazine logos on my back was the coolest part about writing. Some of the questions below you may find cheesy, some may hit home, so grab a few you connect with and make them your own. The purpose of the list of conversations starters below is to give you a few ideas that will allow you to “spot that small opening” - so you can minimize the small talk in your life, meet more interesting people ( which is everyone if you ask the right questions) and build more win-win relationships. Like the quote above says, building relationships is not only about showcasing your good qualities but bringing them out in other people ( which is the best quality). They use this to their advantage by asking a question that allows them to create a small opening, and inch by inch, they move the conversation forward until interest is generated, and ultimately, trust is built, so a second conversation is earned. People who are great at starting conversations come in all shapes and sizes, but the underlying lesson all of them have learned is that people like to talk about themselves. When it comes to meeting new people, the best conversationalists approach their job with one goal in mind - advance. “The paradoxical secret of charisma is that it’s not about trumpeting your good qualities, but making the other person feel good about theirs.” - Brett McKay, The Art of Manliness

Conversations starters