How to Talk to Anyone

Knowing how to talk to anyone is an asset. If you have the confidence to talk to anyone, you instantly have more opportunities. The connections we make with other people can be valuable for many reasons, and to make those connections, you have to be able to approach anyone.

Must Have Qualities to Talk to Anyone

Do your best to attain these qualities before attempting to talk to anyone:

• Confidence: Be confident. If you’re not a confident person, fake it ’til you make it, and you might gain that confidence along the way.
• Friendliness: You want to come off as someone nice for someone to want to talk to you as well, so remember to be friendly.
• Open-mindedness: Don’t be judgy. A negative preconceived idea won’t get you far, so try to keep an open mind when talking to someone.
• Creativity: Be creative about how you start a conversation. It is always possible to start talking to someone if you can find the approach to do so, and sometimes this requires a bit of creativity.

Reminder When Talking to Someone

You will continuously notice one common thing being mentioned throughout our article. This is why it is the most important thing to keep in mind when talking to anyone. Find things you have in common with the person you are trying to talk to.

This is the easiest way to approach someone and talk to anyone you want. Sometimes you find common ground by giving a compliment. For example, you might not both have blue hair, but if you like their blue hair, you both like this hair color.

Even if you wouldn’t personally make the same choices, you share alike for something, which could lead to other conversations.

You are basically looking for an in. Find that angle, and you will be capable of talking to anyone, no matter how introverted you may be. When you find things you have in common with someone, you often feel more comfortable with them because you share something. Feeling comfortable is an important part of being able to talk to anyone.

Benefits of Being Able to Talk to Anyone:

Many benefits come with being able to talk to anyone. Below are some of the most significant ones:

• You will make more friends. By approaching anyone, you will likely gain lots of new friendships, or at least new acquaintances.
• You will become well connected. The more people you talk to, the more people you know, the more connections you have. Having connections can be beneficial in different circumstances, such as at your workplace or where you study.
• You will gain confidence. Being able to talk to anyone, any stranger, whoever you want to talk to, makes you feel more confident. Overcoming the stress that might initially be present when approaching someone will feel great.

How to Talk to People in Different Situations

Below are different situations you might find yourself wanting to have the ability to talk to anyone. Follow these tips:

Where you work: Talking to someone where you work shouldn’t be too difficult because you are likely talking to them for a reason, or you can come up with a reason to talk to them.

The easiest approach would be talking to them about something work related to take the first step of starting a conversation with them. Perhaps you’re approaching them at work, but on a lunch break, in this case, you can start a conversation about anything.

Where you study: If you’re trying to approach someone to talk to them at school, like when you are in a work situation, you most likely have a reason to talk to that person.

If you don’t have a reason to have a conversation with them, you can easily ask them about a class or a teacher you might have in common. This will get the ball rolling, and hopefully, you can carry the conversation on from there.

At a party: This scenario could be a bit more challenging because you can’t necessarily rely on making small talk based on something you know you have in common. However, you can still easily find things you are both experiencing at that moment to start a conversation with whoever it is you want to talk to.

Approach the person and ask them who they know at the party or how they know the person who is hosting the party. Starting a conversation like this can lead to stories being shared or learning if you have mutual friends.

When you’re meeting your friends’ friends: Talking to any one of your friends’ friends is simple. After all, you share a friend. Common things you can talk about are how you met your shared friend, how long you’ve been friends, etc. These conversation starters will hopefully lead to other longer conversations.

At random places: If you are trying to talk to someone at a random place, ask questions. Find something you can ask a question about, and then perhaps compliment the person, or share a nice remark.

Two Main Conversation Starters When Talking to Someone

A basic necessity when talking to anyone is starting the conversation. Try these out: 

1. Talk about something that is currently happening. For example, if they’re eating something, you could ask about it or share that that food is your favorite too. Maybe you are at the gym, and you could ask about their workout routine or ask for advice.
2. Ask an open-ended question. This could be the easiest way to start a conversation because, really, all you have to do is come up with a good question to ask, and then they proceed to talk and hopefully also have a question for you. In this scenario, you did very little work to begin talking to the person, and they did more of the talking.

Do’s and Don’ts to Talk to Anyone:

Take these do’s and don’ts into consideration when talking to anyone.

Do’s:

• Be approachable: Even if you are the one approaching the other person, they will be more likely to talk to you by being approachable. Your energy will be different, and they will be able to sense that.
• Be nice: You need to be nice if you hope to be successful at talking to anyone. No one chooses to talk to a mean person.
• Be polite: This goes along with being nice, you don’t want to be rude, or else you’ll scare the other person away.

Don’ts:

• Don’t be closed off: If you’re approaching someone, you have to do it openly. Of course, if it is someone you don’t know, this might be a challenge, and you don’t need to tear all your walls down, but you don’t want to be closed off.
• Don’t come on too strong: You might be eager to talk to that person, but don’t come on too strong, proceed calmly.
• Don’t be pushy: If you’re unsuccessful in getting the person’s attention and holding a conversation with them, let it go. Try again with someone else, they won’t want to talk to you if you’re pushy to have a conversation.

Things You Should Have Gathered From This

Being able to talk to just anyone can be a struggle, but it shouldn’t be. Go into any conversation with confidence, being sure of yourself and what you’re saying. People can feel the energy you give off, which is a key factor in that feeling they will get from interacting with you. If you are open-minded and nice when approaching someone, it should go well. Also, consider the ideas that were suggested to start talking to someone in different situations.

You may encounter common scenarios, but you can apply those suggestions to other situations with slight modifications. Having a conversation starter will always be beneficial in this situation, along with the most important thing to keep in mind, finding things you may have in common with the person you are trying to approach.