Ahmed Shaami
In today’s world, we talk a lot more than the previous generations. We talk more than we ever had in the form of writing posts on Facebook, share thoughts on Twitter, share life events in the form of photographs on SnapChat and Instagram. In some way, we find people talking all the time and yet in all the talk, we have become the worst conversationalist than ever before. There is so much focus on getting the message out that what should be a dialogue has become a kind of a monologue. As opposed to this, we should have been more engaged in dialogues. The result of not engaging in dialogues, we have lost the power to make connections with people we talk with.
That makes us miss a lot of opportunities to learn more about the people we are talking to, our emphasis is mostly on getting the message out. We do not pay attention on making our conversation better in any way. For forming any kind of relationships, it is important to become a better conversationalist. Carrying out a conversation is playing a game of ping-pong. In this game, we wait for the ball to come over the net, than we hit it back to the person on the other side and by doing the same, the game continuous.
Following are the ways that can help you improve your conversational skills:
Ask others what they think:
Communicating with the other person requires you to give respect to them. There is no better way of giving respect then asking them what they think. Instead of talking continuously, you better give a chance to the other person to speak and share their thoughts.
Maintaining the eye contact:
In order to show the other person that you are interested in talking, you need to maintain an eye contact. If you start fiddling your fingers when the other person is talking or start looking at your feet, they will feel insulted and same will happen to you. Keeping this in mind, you need to maintain a balance of your eye contact and do not scare away your conversation partner.
Good listening:
In order to become a good conversationalist, you need to become good at listening. In order to show interest in what the other person is saying, ask questions further about the topic when they take a pause. Allow them to talk and do not show that you only want to know the other person. Become good at listening to whatever they say and you will become a better conversationalist.
Stay informed:
Another most important aspect of carrying out a good conversation is that you stay informed about the topics you are interested in. If you don’t know the topic, you will fail to give your opinion regarding it, and the conversation will end soon. Stay abreast for key issues and current topics so that people enjoy getting in a conversation with you.
Provide a positive feedback:
When you want to develop relationships either personal or professional, keeping a poker-face will not help you at all. Nodding your head and providing verbal affirmation is important to tell the other person that you are fully engaged in a conversation.
Remain humorous:
Although there is a time and place for everything but try to remain light-hearted during your conversations. Be yourself and entertaining in order to lighten up the environment but judge the reaction of the other person to see if you are hitting the right notes.
Remain empathetic:
You may get indulge in a conversation that touches the other person’s personal life. Make sure that you are empathetic towards them and their situation as it will make them trust you. Once a trust is developed, people around you will feel comfortable in carrying out the conversation with you.
