I'm a shy person. What's the best way to start conversations with new people?
Study them. Come up with things to talk about before you actually make the move to talk to them. You see a woman standing ahead of you in line and she has a bag of unique chips in her grocery basket. You just so happen to like salt and vinegar chips. She turns to grab something from her cart to load it onto the conveyer. Let the conversation begin."I'm sorry but do you eat those often?"She could get irritated immediately.No they're for my husband. No they're my son's. Why do you care."They looked worth trying, I'm sorry."Or she could be friendly.No, every now and then I get them. They're not so great for a constant snack blah blah blah"Oh really? Have you tried salt and vinegar? Tears up my mouth but I can't get enough of them."I know, those and dill pickle~The woman proceeds to hold up a bag of pickle flavored chips. You two hit it off and there you have it.Basically if you treat everyday run ins like a first text, you'll be fine. Study. Observe. Is the person having a bad day? Make sure you work around seeing if they want to talk about it. It shows people you can lend an ear and be a friend.I went off on a tangent and forgot your question by now and I'm on my phone so I can't go back and look oops. Still I hope I helped.
How do I continue a conversation with someone even though you have nothing to talk about?
A2A, hence the response.Why do you feel the dearth to give extra effort for a conversation to continue?! Giving any extra effort shows desperation and neediness, which are quite big turn-offs.Anyway, experience has taught me that the best conversations are the ones which are not prepared or rehearsed right before they actually happen. They are impromptu and don't require any extra effort to be made. And by the looks of it, the person doesn't seem to be 'just a good friend' of yours. It's okay and I am not judging.:)Let me assume that you are just curious to know more about the person. You can start by talking about their childhood. No one ever gets bored of talking about their best and the most careless days. Being an ambivert, I require such fail-safes to be by my side, always ready to my rescue.Flirting and admiration are yet another ways to continue the conversation, as long as the person doesn't get creeped out. If s/he does, it's a cue for you to back off.Talk about your passion/interest/hobby/aspiration. Being confidently able to present your side of the world and your way of thinking generates curiosity and showcases your talent, which in turns gets the other person interested about you and makes him/her want to know you better.Not being pretentious helps a lot. Accept your identity and embrace it. This shows confidence too, which in turn catches the other person's eye.Give the person some space and be on your most positive behaviour to see the difference.Take it with a pinch of salt. All the best.:)
How do I keep a conversation going when people ask, "How's it going?"
Say, “Pretty well. How about with you?” And then, a question like this: “Done anything interesting lately?” “How’s work?” “Did you see the game yesterday?” “Are you still dating Alice?” “How’s little Martha doing with the piano?” And when they answer, show interest and either ask another question or say something about yourself you think they’d find interesting: “I’m fine now, but I was out sick three days last week.” “I made a big sale yesterday.”
What do you think of making friends over the internet?
@Joshms: My opinion? Well, I think you and all my other contacts are proof that I have *no* problem with making friends with people on the internet. Just as you have no idea if the person you're talking to on the internet is a crazy murderer, you have no idea if the person living across the street from you is a murderer as well. Does that mean you should completely avoid any confrontations with every human in the world by the chance that they might want to hurt you? I know all about "stranger danger", but I think I've made pretty certain on a lot of you guys that you are who you say you are. And I'm not careless either, though. There *have* been people I've met online that I've been creeped out by and blocked. Onetime some guy on formspring asked for a picture of me, someone I'd never seen before, so I blocked him and deleted his question question. Running out of characters...
What does it mean when a friend stops talking to you but you did nothing?!?
It means is time to move on... In life you will have many friends stop talking to you for no apparent reason, borrow items and $ and stop talking in order to not repay, friends will steal your boyfriend/husband, use you for favors,jeopardize your relationships, your job your mental health and peace....etc. It's important to become emotionally independent and not need the companionship of others!!! Sometimes we do or say something that bothers the other person and they stop talking to us, or maybe we are not conveniently useful to them anymore, or they are jealous or envious! I know that I went through a stage that I got tired of putting up with my friends comments and criticism, and after many years just decided one day to end the communication. right now, I'm sick of certain friends and wish I could end the friendships (after 25 years of friendship and so much availability to communicate it's hard to just stay away from them). They have no idea of the things that aggravate me...so I invent things such as, I'm busy, I'm depressed, I have no long distance!!!, or I don't want to be bothered...of course they refuse to accept that I'm referring to them!!!
Friend with benefits - how long should i keep it?
How long should I keep my friend with benefits? -about me and my friend with benefits: --We only see each other once or twice a month (sometimes 3 times) --Our so-called date (well, not really a date) is very routine: 1. He picks me up after I get out of work 2. Goes to his place (sometimes do grocery shopping before that) 3. I cook dinner (sometimes he will cook a dish or cook some soup)...we have our dinner, and I wash the dishes (although he always say he can wash it later) 4. We watch a movie (normally his lap becomes my head pillow) 5. Do some massage once awhile 6. Do the friend with benefits things 7. He brings me home (40 mins round trip for him)..If it is a friday, i stay over... 8. I also borrow him movies (movies drama) since I love to collect them. My question is: How long should I keep this relationship? I know it is not right (so no moral answer please), but I am not ready for a committed relationship yet.