How To Keep A Conversation Going

Have you ever wanted to have a conversation with someone rather than just a short introduction? Ever wondered how to hold a discussion and keep a conversation going after you have successfully started on the right foot with an ice-breaker? In this article we will share tips on how to keep a conversation going amongst different audiences.

We all have those conversations where we talk to a person for a little bit then, out of nowhere, either you or them stop responding. Sometimes all it takes is just that one incident to discourage people from future conversation. There are many ways to get someone interested in talking with you, getting kids and adults (middle aged or older) to talk to you, but there must be a focus on the most important elements first.

Steps to keep a conversation going with Adults

As a person ages, it can become harder to keep a conversation going. Learning what is involved in conversation will help you learn how to keep things lively when speaking with someone.

How to keep a conversation going is not a book of ideas. Although you can use it that way using:

1. Prompts

2. Words of encouragement

3. Discussing personal things about your life

4. Discussing a topic of mutual interest

5. The little Poem in the back is ever so cute, it would make a great gift for the teenager in your life (or the college student).

6. If they don’t know what to talk about, make them talk about themselves.

7. If you want to be interesting, keep in mind that people love talking about themselves and are happy to tell you things.

8. Whatever people do around you is a reflection of their personalities, so pay attention. People love showing off how smart they are or what they have accomplished (bragging) but only if the listener seems interested so try to seem interested.

9. Talk about the latest trend or news, an awesome surfboard or a new haircut.

10. Ask them if they have been on holiday and how they enjoyed it.

11. If you are talking to someone who likes sports, ask them if they know the latest scores.

12. If you are talking to someone who likes to travel, ask them what their favourite country is.

Today people in general can tend to lose interest soon after finding one and quickly move on to the next activity or the next topic. This has been very successful in teaching ways on how to initiate conversations and how you can affect your children's behaviour by:

1. Showing interest in their activities

2. Teaching them how to ask questions. It also helps build confidence because they can see themselves asking questions and making connections.

3. Once they realize that they are capable of having meaningful conversations with people outside their circle of friends, they will start trying it out at home and with other adults.

Steps to keep a conversation going with Kids

Kids have an even shorter attention span than adults so we need to be fast and as exciting as possible for them.

1. Being interested in the other person is the key to a good conversation.

2. Do not bore people with too much talk. Talking about the weather is boring for most people. In fact, most of the time, people talk about the weather when they have nothing else to talk about because if you do not know what to say and start off the conversation with the wrong topic then it is hard to regain control of it.

3. Use visuals

4. Use different sounds or music

5. Use more body language

6. Give assurance

7. Share your experience as a child

8. Ask about their hobbies

9. Ask what they like to play with their friends and family

10. Ask what videos or movies they like to watch\

11. Ask about animals, have they ridden a horse or played with puppies before? Would they like to? How many?