
Ask HN: How do I get better at dinner conversations? - crossroads091
Recently, I invited my colleagues over for a farewell dinner and inadvertently put myself in the spot, by being asked a lot of inquisitive get-to-know-me better questions such as 1) Who among us did you feel turned out the most different from what you originally expected? 2) What are the top 5 things you&#x27;ll miss about leaving this place? (Mountain View, if that helps) 3)What are the top 5 things you learnt over the course of the past year? etc.<p>I had either one-word responses or some very uninteresting answers and knew I was making the conversation stilted and boring. It was pretty awkward, and there came a point when I just wanted to be put out of the misery, and just be a fly in the wall, listening in on the fun conversation that the group would have, minus me.<p>So, to all the guys who make smalltalk seem effortless, how do you guys do it? Can this be learned? Should this be learned?
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nikhizzle
It's very easy. Ask people about themselves, and follow up with more
questions. Ask about things you are genuinely curious about. I've found in 95%
of discussions this will do it, and perhaps the other 5% are not worth having.

