But but now that you’ve had your opener, it’s time to bridge the gap from an opening to an actual conversation by opening up just a little and connecting yourself to the opener. Let’s say that you used Stephen Amell’s performance during Summer Slam as your opening. To bridge the gap, you might say something along the lines of “I was never really much of a wrestling fan, but the idea of The Arrow doing pro-wrestling was kind of hilarious and now I’m kind of digging it.” By sharing a little bit about yourself, you’re encouraging the exchange of information in a way that invites reciprocity – you’ve shared something about yourself, now it’s their turn to share something about themselves. By sharing part of yourself – even something relatively minor – it allows other people to feel comfortable sharing part of themselves as well. Opening up like this also provides an immediate conversational topic – this shared moment and how you both relate to it.