The Art of Conversation

I’ve often noticed that successful people are outgoing, comfortable talking to strangers, and easy in conversation.  The ability to strike up a pleasant, engaging conversation with just about anyone can come in hand everywhere, however, not just in the world of business.

I think I would like to develop my ability to converse successfully with strangers – after all, it seems like an important skill in finding and keeping friends!

Finishing one project before starting another!

So I made an unpublished vow to finish my September Friendship Endeavor work before starting on October, and last night, I did!

I called two separate friends I hadn’t spoken to in far too long – one from AZ and one from PA.  The phone calls went just as I had hoped – before long we were laughing and chatting about everything we had missed in each others lives.

We played catch-up and joked and empathized and planned together.  And now, one of them is coming to visit soon!

Thankfully, I will officially be able to wrap up my September Endeavors with a full Friendship Meter. And most of all, I am happy and thankful to report (to the universe?) that procrastination didn’t pay off, but getting into gear and calling old friends did.  Oldies but goodies is the phrase, and in this case it held true. I didn’t realize how much I missed their company and small talk until I got to enjoy it again.

So here’s to friendship, and here’s to finishing the first month of the Friendship Endeavor with a lot of happiness to show for it.

 

An Article with 50 Suggestions for Making Friends

I was looking for some extra tips on making friends, and I found this article on meeting people pretty useful!

It goes over some basic but interesting stuff, like bringing up things previously mentioned by them in conversation to ask them more about it, etc.  It’s got some good pointers, so I’m going to try a few!

Sweet Success!

So perhaps it’s cheating, but today I went to a few orientation events for the grad program I’m starting at OSU.  And, surprise surprise, I probably struck up a conversation with at least 1/2 a dozen other grad women.

I’m divided as to whether this counts or not – after all, they were all there to meet people and get to know the program, too, so we weren’t wholly disinterested parties with no need or motivation to meet each other besides being friendly.

Regardless, I met a ton of new people and started some promising relationships, so I’m counting it on the Friendship Meter!

I can definitely sense who I may like to keep getting to know (some more  so than others!) and I’m looking forward to a few opportunities to do so.

All in all, a successful day of friendly chats and promising starts.  Now for rekindling some old friendships (which can be even more awkward than starting new relationships out of the blue)!

The check-out lady doesn’t count

Clarification: small talk with people who are

a. serving you coffee

b. handing you change from a purchase

c. only interacting with you because they’re being paid

does not count as an attempt at making friends or truly striking up conversation out of the blue.

I came to this conclusion after I realized that, despite feeling like I had chatted with a few ladies while I was out and about, if those particular ladies hadn’t answered me they wouldn’t have been doing their jobs. Does that make me lame? It’s reminiscent of all of those adolescent movies where someone thinks they have a new friend but the “friend” is really being paid or is only being friendly because of a dare or a bet. Enter “She’s All That” and “Richie Rich.”

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that these interactions don’t have any potential for forming friendships, but I feel like it’s harder to gauge the friendship potential when one of the parties is on the clock!  Of course, these conversations can be satisfying, fun, and mutually rewarding – and they are also great practice for starting friendly conversations with others (who can take the time to share their email or phone without getting in trouble!).

I wish I was still in that stage of life where I could join a sorority and buy friends.

In other words: progress on the Friendship Meter is nil.