Friday, November 25, 2016

What's your go to "icebreaker" line for when you meet new people?

My go-to line came to me when I attended my first high school reunion. This was during one of our many recessions, and a lot of people were either out of work or underemployed. The old "What do you do?" line was tacitly avoided. Instead, many people opened conversations with "Where do you live?"

Seattle is a city of neighborhoods, so it's pretty appropriate to ask. This question can be followed up with others: "Do you ever eat at X restaurant?" "How is the traffic?" etc.

On first dates, a favorite question was "What was your first concert?" Everybody has a story, and even if the first show was something embarrassing -- a boy band or whatever -- it can still be a fun and innocuous icebreaker. (Technically, mine was Shaun Cassidy, but the first one without my parents was the Stray Cats. Stray Cats was my "date" answer.)

If you're at a party, you can always ask "How do you know the host?" This can be a good entry into a conversation about shared acquaintances or affiliations. ("We work together." "Oh, where's that?")

I suppose one should use their best judgement with these questions. If you feel like the person may be embarrassed to admit where they live (like if they're an American adult who lives with their parents,) then you probably shouldn't press on in this vein.

Of course, you can always focus on something external in the situation: Have you tried the artichoke dip? Did you have trouble parking? Have you heard this album (referring to the music that's playing)? Or compliment (sincerely) them on something they are wearing.


Read other answers by Caroline Zelonka on Quora: Read more answers on Quora.

from Quora http://ift.tt/2gqbVHE

No comments:

Post a Comment