awkward conversation

The other day, the wormball and I were discussing “conversational strategies”. We’re both not very good at small talk, so you know…you gotta figure out ways to cope. First, here are some of my own conversational weaknesses.

1) According to my sister, I laugh too much.
2) Using my cynical-sometimes-mean brand of sarcasm too easily (working on that one) – I only do this when I’m (too) comfortable!
3) Not maintaining eye contact
4) Not genuinely listening (really thinking: when will this end?)

Now, here are some strategies we came up with:

1)If you’re meeting someone for the first time, ask them about what kind of music/films/tv they like (Courtesy of Wormball)
2) Share random information no one really needs to know (Courtesy of Butterball) – this is a hit and miss!
3) Avoid the awkward conversation in the first place. If you see someone at a restaurant, for example, but you don’t totally want to catch up…and say, they haven’t seen you yet…AVOID!