You know the situation: There you are at a business or social function and you end up sitting with someone you have never met before.
Some people get amazingly uncomfortable with this situation because they simply don’t know how to start or carry on a conversation.
Yet successful people are always going to find themselves in these kinds of situations because they are always stretching themselves and putting themselves in situations to help them and their businesses grow, and that means meeting new people.
So if you are going to be successful, one thing you have to learn is how to talk to any body, any time.
First, a couple of things not to do. One, don’t get flustered and excuse yourself. That is the easy way out and you never know if you didn’t leave who would have become your best friend or closest business associate.
Secondly, don’t start talking about yourself. Sure, introduce yourself, but don’t launch into a half-hour monologue about your accomplishments.
The key is to talk about the person you have just met. Don’t talk about yourself – talk about them! And the key is to ask questions. Now, there are obviously some people you just will not be able to talk to. However, for the most part, if you persist in asking questions, you will be able to talk to any body, any time.
There are three segments to this process, ask questions, find connections and go in those directions.
What you are trying to do is to find common ground. What makes people afraid to talk to others is that they won’t have anything in common.
If you ask questions for a minute or two, you can always find a connection with someone and then you’re set.
The worst that could happen is that you ask the person questions for a few minutes and find nothing in common. But what will that person tell others? That you seem to have a genuine interest in others. That is a great reputation to have!
If you get adept enough at asking questions of others, you will inevitably find a connection to talk about. And having something in common with someone is the start to a long and mutually beneficial relationship – one of the foundations of success!
Remember, ask questions, find connections, go in those directions.
