“Talking to him is like running a mental marathon…I could barely keep up…”
Comparisons and contrasts offer great material for conversation. Not only do they help clarify your point, but they can help keep the conversation more interesting (and sometimes even humorous).
See if you can go beyond simple comparisons using “like/as.”
For example, “I’m talking…huge, Godzilla huge.” If you must use a comparison word, try to get creative – instead of […]
Making keen or insightful observations about your surroundings is one of best and most interesting ways for initiating conversations. Making statements about your common surroundings is usually safe and also interesting because it is very relevant to your conversational partner. Many poor conversationalists fail to go beyond simple observations like, “She is wearing a lot of mascara.”
There are so many fantastic ways to upgrade your observations, so let’s look […]
Too much detail can bore, and the same goes for too little detail. Let’s go through a spectrum shall we?
Bad = “We went to a city.”
Okay = “we went to Detroit.”
Better = “we drove our little Honda to Detroit.”
Good = “We drove our little Honda through the war-torn city I call Detroit.”
Good, almost too much detail = “We drove our little 1997 Honda through the smog invested, war-torn city […]
“I’m more of a hippy granola eating person… yeah well I’m more of a greasy bacon kind of guy.”
People love labels. You can label anything! Put it in a category. People love to put things in nice little packages. It’s also just plain fun. Just the idea of putting something complex like a person or a situation under a specific label can often spark some interesting and often […]
Instead of: “It was good.”
Add the extra detail: “It was good, there was this guy who almost drooled on me, but other than that it was good.”
What can help keep your phrase from sounding like every other boring, common phrase in the world? Add an extra detail. Don’t just make a statement, explain why. For example,“She’s unstoppable…she’s got two #1 songs right now…”
The extra detail […]
Instead of: “I’m so upset, I’m gonna need to calm down.”
Paint a picture: “I’m so upset, I’m gonna need to go buy a decaf iced coffee…”
Instead of: “It’s hot in here…”
Paint a picture:
“I think I’ve sweated off 5 Ibs of sweat already…”
“I thought I was in a desert for a minute.”
“I almost fainted from dehydration.”
Instead of: […]
