SoftSkillHero: Practice Career-Critical Soft Skills with AI

Starting a conversation

No matter how interested you are in learning about the other person, you first need to find a way to start the conversation. To do so, introduce yourself and ask the other person a question that invites them to tell a "mini story" from their life. For example:

To answer this question, the other person will most likely answer with a story about their past. For example:

Asking a question that prompts a story is a great way to start a conversation because stories contain details that you can easily ask follow-up questions about.

Now you're in the middle of an engaging conversation, with little risk of awkward silence. Asking a question that invites the other person to tell a story is all it takes.

Which of these questions invite the conversation partner to tell a story?

(At an after-work mixer:) How do you do?

(At a local meetup:) What brought you to _ (insert name of city)?

(At a party:) How did you get to know _ (insert host of party)?

(At a conference:) Do you enjoy the conference?

(At a company retreat:) What led you to work for _ (insert name of company)?

If you start a conversation with a person you already know, such as a colleague, use the same technique. Ask them a question which elicits a story from their life. The only difference to starting a conversation with a stranger is that you can ask more personal questions. For example:

What did you do over the weekend?
How did the workshop go that you held last week?