Conversation Starters For Teens

CONVERSATION STARTERS FOR TEENS



Vacations can be a great time to socialize and to forge new bonds and renew old ones.

But for youngsters (especially shy ones) it can be a stressful time. Some of them do not know how to carry out a conversation with people they meet for the first time or with the ones they hardly meet.

This is a generation that is more comfortable texting than carrying out a face to face conversation. Throwing this bunch in front of strangers can leave them at their wits ends.

“Conversational Competence might be the single most overlooked skill we failed to teach” as Paul Barnwell writes in The Atlantic.

Here are some things that have helped some of the youngsters I have coached hone their interpersonal skills.

1. Ask your youngster “What would you like to be asked about by others? “ It is a good starting point to get them to start thinking about topics to talk about and then think which ones will be appropriate for which age groups they meet.

2. One Question that’s a great conversation starter is “So what’s your story?” People love talking about themselves. This question gives the person an opportunity to choose what about themselves they want to share.

3. Sometimes it can be hard to think of a topic or a question when one is in the situation. In that case one of the easiest things to do is ask back the question one has been asked.

A good conversation is a balance between talking and listening. I love what Celeste Headlee says about conversations in her TedTalk “Talk to people. Listen to people. And be prepared to be amazed. Because everybody has something amazing about them. “

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