Starting a conversation has never in a skill I possessed. I get all nervous and clammy, then idiotic words flow from my mouth.
Just the other day I was at the grocery store buying some ice cream and some feminine products(the joys of being a girl). As the cashier was ringing up my purchases she said, “oh my gosh I love these”. Since ‘these’ is the plural term, obviously I figured she was talking about the hygiene products. Me being a genius and all, I simply responded “I know they absorb really well”. Before the words were finished flowing out off my tongue I quickly wanted to snatch them back into my mouth.
If I was pale, my face would have been red. Actually I think my face was red. Awkwardness can’t even describe what just happened. I think she was going to tell me she was actually talking about the ice cream but I was way too uncomfortable to continue the conversation. I quickly paid and scurried the heck out of there, wishing the last minute and a half had never taken place.
After that embarrassing conversation I thought it might be a wise idea to read the book I bought from Half Price Books about a month ago. It’s called How to Start a Conversation and Make Friends. Originally I bought the book thinking this may be funny, plus it was only a dollar. Now I realize in my current situation this book is a God send.
According to the book there are three components to a conversation, body language, tone of voice and words. GREAT! Just my luck, considering I have so much trouble trying to find the right words to say, now I also have to worry about my tone and body language. Hmmmm, that seems like a lot of multi-tasking…
Seriously, I envy the people who can just randomly start a great conversation with anyone nearby. I mean, where did they learn this skill and how can I play catch up? Conversation skills are something that should to be taught in our schools. Hopefully, kids these days wont grow up to be mid 20 year-old’s trying to figure out the basics of a proper conversation.
I mean why do conversations have to be so complicated? That’s the questions of the year. Any ideas? Please share your thoughts below.
The Floundering 
Hey Trice,
We had an author write a piece about making friends in adulthood for our site and it’s one of the most viewed posts to date. I think it’s a common struggle among people in our generation. Some would like to blame it on technology and I think there’s some real validity to that because we (as a cultural) just don’t have to personally interact as much anymore. Practice makes perfect and all that.
Anyways, we run a website where 20 somethings tell their honest stories of growing up and we’d love for you to submit an article sometime. Check us out at http://howto20something.com and if you like what you see, go to http://howto20something.com/write-for-us-1 to get in touch!