1. Thinking outside of yourself

In the world of the internet, it’s very much about us. We are told that promoting yourself isn’t a bad thing and that the better you can make yourself look, the better. But when you’re trying to have a conversation with someone, it’s important that you remember it’s not all about you. Try focusing on them instead of yourself and whoever you are talking to is much less likely to get bored and tune out. Plus, it makes you seem like a much more engaged and likable person yourself.

2. Listen. Listen. Listen.

A conversation is a two-way street. Yes, that means that you can’t just talk you actually have to listen to what the other person is saying as well. Don’t worry, in general people love to talk about themselves so as long as you are actively engaged in what they are saying you shouldn’t have to be too worried about the possibility of too many awkward silences.

3. Ask questions

You can’t expect for the other person to always know what to talk about. Make things more comfortable by asking them questions when there is a lull in the conversation. You don’t need to stress about what you’re asking and you don’t need to pre-plan what you’re going to ask. Just go with the flow, don’t panic, and go off of what you are genuinely interested in knowing about them. Conversations are about engaging with another person. Sometimes that fire of engagement needs a poke or two, but before long you’ll fall into a comfortable rhythm and you won’t even be worried about what to say.