No matter how skilled you become at starting conversations you will meet people
who do not want to talk or people you have very little in common with. In these
cases it is acceptable to give it your best and then wind down the conversation
when it is obviously going nowhere. Be polite and make your exit when you know
there is no point in continuing.
Keep fishing until you find someone else to talk to where it clicks for both of you.
Even in the case of a great conversation take charge when it seems to be
winding down. Wrap it up before it declines too far and politely end the
conversation:
· Thank you so much for your time I really enjoyed talking to you. I will
run along now to give someone else a chance to talk to you.
· That was fun - its great to talk to someone so interesting. I’ll have to go
now. Hopefully we’ll talk again some other time
When a conversation does not go anywhere do not regard it as a personal
failure. Conversation is a two way street!
Did the other person want to participate? If the answer is No then it’s not your
fault. On the other hand it is always worth reviewing a conversation that does not
work out to figure out what if anything you could have done differently to move
the conversation along.
View these encounters, as learning experiences and aim to get better each time
and you will make steady progress.