3 Ways to Keep A Conversation Going

Communication is a vital part of human activities. For information to be passed from one person to another, there has to be a certain level of understanding between them which cannot take place without language or body communication. In summary, communication is a two-way deal and once a side is short of its expectations, there is a glitch in passing across meaningful information.

While communication needs to take place, it is necessary to put into consideration, the use of proper speaking etiquette. Speaking etiquette is the basic rule of communication, they are guides to keeping your conversation interesting, interactive and at the same time, informative.

There are certain times we might not know how to keep a conversation going or how to get out of an odd situation during our conversations. How we get out of those seemingly odd circumstances without any hitch shows the level of etiquette we have imbibed.

Speaking is an art and also, a vital part of conversation aside from listening and just like every other artistic practice, they both have to follow a set of laid down rules which I have highlighted below.

1. Consideration

2. Respect

3. Honesty.

All three rules above encompass any form of communication either formal or informal.

CONSIDERATION

 The rules of being considerate entail that you give whomever you are discussing with an opportunity to express themselves. This is because no one feels so good when they are not allowed to freely give their opinions. 

Being considerate also covers the aspect of giving other people a chance to know you by asking questions, you don't always have to be the one questioning them back-to-back as it may make them feel ill-at-ease at you.

 The ability to avoid making expensive jokes or treading sensitive topics especially if one is not familiar with the recipient of your conversation shows that one has learnt the art of being considerate in communication properly. This is important to learn so as not to make the mistake of churning a joke out of someone else's emotional pains.

It is also necessary to avoid popularly debated topics like politics, football, religion, feminism, gender interest or fashion especially if the other party is not a close ally. This is because these topics spark diverse opinions which, when not managed well, could lead to conflict. In communication, the aspect of setting boundaries cannot be overlooked.

RESPECT.

A good speaker has the capability of being a good listener. Every individual learns every day and the day a man stops learning, he starts dying.

In keeping the fluidity of your conversation, you must learn to watch your body language and facial expressions. This is because these non-verbal forms of communication speak a ton about how you feel about whoever is having a chat with you. Some of these actions might be subconscious such as checking the time, looking over the head of someone who's speaking to you, cutting the speaker off halfway and other unintentional blunders, but they make communication appear awkward. 

Respect by acknowledging the speaker is a communication skill that must be learnt. It includes learning to acknowledge whoever talks with and to you with a "yes", a "nod of your head" or "an eye signal", not negating directly what someone has just said, learning how to give constructive criticisms instead of being impolitely harsh in the name of being blunt will be of great help here.

HONESTY.

Why do I need to be honest when communicating?

For you to have an audience of one or more people, it shows that people have a certain level of trust in you and credibility to your words. You would be doing yourself a great disservice by including lies when you could as well speak the truth.

Rather than telling lies or deliberately falsifying who you are or what you're presenting, a conversation can be kept on by better averting the questions or directly refusing to answer - you have that much right because not only will telling lies give you a bad reputation, it will also mar your relationship with other people.

Dear reader, putting these skills to use will make conversations enjoyable to you and also endear you to people, causing them to look forward to always chatting with you.