ADVANCED TECHNIQUES PT. 2
Three Ways To Escape A Conversation
Not all conversations will be amazing. Not all conversation partners will become your new best friend. And sometimes, well, you want to politely exit the conversation and find a better one.
Here are three techniques I use at social events.
- “I’m going to get another drink. Do you want to join me?”
If I’m at an event — a party, a conference, etc. — I try to enter a new conversation with an almost-empty drink. That way, I know that whenever I want I can quickly finish the drink and excuse myself to get another.
I also like to invite the person I’m talking with to join me because I know how awkward it is to suddenly be standing alone in the middle of a room. And what usually happens is that at the bar or on the way to the bar another conversation starts or he finds someone else he wants to talk to.
2. “Excuse me, do you know where the bathrooms are?”
This one is good if you don’t want the person to join you. And if he does join you, well, I guess your new conversation skills worked too well.
3. “Who have you met tonight?” Then: “Come on, let’s go mingle.”
In English, “mingle” means to move around a room meeting people and starting conversations.
When you ask someone who they’ve met, usually the number is small. This is a way of stating the obvious: We came here to meet people but we’re not so let’s start.
That makes total sense and most people will be thankful you’re taking the lead.
Then walk up to anyone you want, stand there with a smile until they stop talking and look at you. (Don’t worry, you’re not interrupting or being rude, there’s a 98% chance they were bored.) Introduce yourself and your new friend and start asking questions. In this situation I usually start with, “So what are we talking about?”
NEXT WEEK: The exciting conclusion where we finally discover the true identity of the murderer!