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3 Simple Acronyms To Help You Become A Better Conversationalist
Most conversations enter the Twilight Zone, with the same questions, and boring answers.
How are you? What’s the weather like? What’re your plans for the weekend?
I’m guilty of it.
It’s an easy place to start. It’s my comfortable place, as if I entered a cozy bed, pulled up a heavy comforter, and drifted off into a deep sleep.
Wake up!
Conversations need to be engaging and, in a lot of ways, entertaining.
I don’t need to feel comfortable. Leave that for sleep.
When you ask bad questions, it leads the discussion through a series of meaningless short remarks.
“The right responses can go a long way to jump-start and add new life to your conversations,” says Patrick King in his book The Art of Witty Banter: Be Clever, Be Quick, Be Interesting — Create Captivating Conversation (amazon affiliate link).
He recommends three acronyms to add a new dynamic to how you converse with others.
History, Philosophy, and Metaphor (HPM)
This acronym draws on personal experiences and beliefs.
