How are your conversation skills?

Do you struggle with small talk? 

Gretchen Rubin, author of “The Happiness Project,” has some tips to get your started and enhance your conversation skills:

• Comment on a topic common to both of you at the moment: the food, the room, the occasion or yes, the weather. Just be sure to keep it upbeat. You don’t want your first impression to be a negative one. 

• Google it: Go ahead and see what’s trending before you enter a social situation. You’ll be better prepared to chime in on that hot topic. 

• Ask an easy question: “What’s keeping you busy these days?” opens up the dialog to work, family or fun.

• Ask open questions that can’t be answered with a single word.

• Be SLIGHTLY inappropriate. If you’re good at it, that can ease tension and spark interest and conversation.

For those of you who are a little TOO good at conversation, avoid your favorite topics. Most of us naturally dominate in our areas of expertise and can alienate or bore others with a monologue.