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by NASP Team
Trust is the foundation of any kind of relationship. But it becomes even more important when you’re in sales, as you’re continuously building networks among colleagues, bosses, and clients.
That’s why conversations are very important—and your ability to break the ice, even more so.
Knowing how to get a conversation started can open an opportunity to nurture a valuable connection, just as using a bad opening can cause you to lose it forever.
Our advice is to have an idea of how to approach new conversations. Trust us, it’s not nearly as scary or as daunting as you think!
Conversation starters are exactly that: a sentence or question that’s meant to spark communication. There are so many approaches that you can take here. You can:
Start with something you have in common. Whether it’s a place, a person, or an interest, you can never go wrong with talking about something you both already know.
Use what you know about them. This is one of our top conversation starters, as it shows that you’re not just talking to them because of an ulterior motive.
Show them something interesting. Sometimes, a conversation can start with something as simple as “Check this out!” After all, the goal is to get the other party to engage.
Start with something simple. These are some topics for conversation starters online and in person that may come in handy:
Discussing controversial issues is important to enrich discourse, but context and timing are everything. As important as it may be to know how to start an interesting conversation, you don’t want to potentially jeopardize a valuable network over it.
At least for the first meeting, avoid these topics:
Politics and religion. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but these topics are deeply personal.
Gossip. It’s not bad to talk about people, but don’t focus on their alleged misdeeds or misfortunes.
Relationship issues. How to start a conversation? Don’t talk about relationship issues if you don’t have a personal relationship with the other party.
If your starter assumes a level of familiarity that doesn’t exist yet, it’s better to avoid them for now.
Now that we have already covered what you should and should not talk about, let’s proceed with real examples that you can try using. Please know that this is NOT a full list of topics that you can discuss with someone. Instead, these should give you an idea of the general direction where you can take the discussion.
The questions listed also don’t need to be strictly used in social settings. Get a feel of the person’s mood, and see which would work in that specific context. Begin expanding your network by using these lines:
What are good conversation starters? Anything that helps you relate to the other person, like:
Fortunately for you, it’s easy to learn how to start a good conversation within a professional setting. Try these out to start:
Good online conversation starters are a little more straightforward than in-person ones. Because the other person can just leave you on read, it’s important to be even more engaging without going on too many segues.
At the same time, you should be aware of online etiquette, such as how it may be inappropriate to just leave a “Hi! How are you?” to someone who’s not a friend.
So with online communication, it’s best to just follow this format:
If you’re doing this for online dating instead of for a professional reason, the next section may have more appropriate starters for you.
These are normally applicable for a lot of events (even just those with close friends!) as they are relatively generic. This means that a lot of people will be able to relate to them.
What starter line you use to begin the conversation and how you do so are equally important. After all, it’s no fun talking to someone who thinks speaking with others is a huge chore.
Being genuinely interested helps to keep the conversation going.
Instead of using our list as some kind of cue card where you simply just go one after the other, select the best conversation starters online based on your interest and knowledge of the other person.
Remember that the goal of conversations is to create an impact and build a relationship. By getting started on the right foot, it will be easier for you to work your way there.
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