Always running out of conversation topics? no problem! In this article we have gathered for you the best conversation questions that will make your next conversations the most entertaining.
You will discover that learning how to keep a conversation going without boring is not as difficult as it seems, it’s all a matter of practice and knowing very well what topics you can touch on in a conversation of two people or more.
Therefore, in the following lines we will teach you how to maintain a lively conversation, which will be supported by 80 examples of questions to keep a conversation going and some infallible tips to avoid awkward silence.
Before showing you the conversation topics, you should watch this course:
Now, are you ready? let’s get started!
1. Questions for interesting topics of conversation
all right! Now you are ready to get to know the 80 examples of questions to keep a conversation going that we have compiled for you. In the following lines, you will discover how to have a fluid and fun conversation with anyone. Forget about searching for “how to start and maintain a conversation” on the internet, here we tell you everything.
Questions to keep a conversation interesting will usually include topics of personal opinion, such as the movies the other person likes, their favorite character from a series, etc. how to maintain a conversation without awkward silences? To do this, you must be clear that the questions will not act alone, it is important to answer the questions and delve into the subject so that both parties intervene.
what is your favorite movie?
where would you like to travel to?
do you believe in superstitions?
what is the best career for you?
how would you define your sense of humor?
what three things do you appreciate most in a person?
do you believe there is life on another planet?
who do you turn to when you need advice?
do you prefer numbers or letters?
what is your favorite book?
would you prefer to travel to the future or to the past?
what personal item would you not want to lose?
Your house is on fire and you have 10 seconds to get out, what would you save?
what would you do if you won the lottery?
what makes you change your mind?
do you prefer day or night?
2. Questions to have an in-depth conversation
In-depth conversation questions will help you probe into the other person’s way of thinking on a more private level. At this point, you should avoid judging the answers you receive by keeping an open mind. And if you disagree, try to communicate your opinions with assertiveness and empathy.
if you were born again, would you have this life again or would you want to have another one?
do you prefer physique or personality?
do you think you are happy?
what do you think about abortion?
what is the best memory of your childhood?
what would you never forgive?
how sensitive are you?
do you find it hard to talk about yourself?
do you believe in life after death?
what was the best lesson you ever learned?
what inspires you to be better?
do you fear death?
do you prefer a short, intense life or a long, quiet life?
do you believe in God?
what phrase would define your life?
would you sacrifice yourself for someone?
3. Questions to make conversation fun
Questions to keep a conversation lighthearted and funny are the other side of the coin. Here, you can include topics to make the other person laugh and generate a memorable moment. It’s not about being an expert and knowing how to do stand up comedy either. But, for example, you could try giving counter answers to questions to keep the conversation fun. Take note of our examples:
what’s the funniest thing that’s happened to you lately?
what series always makes you laugh?
do you have any anecdotes that make you laugh at any time?
what would you do if you saw a wild animal on the loose?
would you rather be poor and happy or a millionaire and sad?
If you had to confess, what would you say?
what color could you never put on a wall in your room/house?
If you had the chance to be a famous character, which one would you be?
what character would you like to play in your favorite movie?
what animal scares you the most?
what is the weirdest thing you have ever eaten in your life?
do you dislike any of your college/work mates?
what is the best experience you have had with your friends?
what do you do to cheer up someone who is sad?
what song makes you dance non-stop?
do you have any talent that you consider “useless”?
4. Questions to have a fluent conversation
how to have an active conversation, that is to say, a fluid conversation? The questions to keep a conversation going that we have compiled in this section will help you to do so. If you want to talk for hours with a person, you should take them into account.
what kind of music or song best defines your personality?
do you consider yourself a self-starter?
what is something you can’t stand about society?
what would you like to do in the future?
how would you describe yourself in 3 words?
what is your dream job?
how do you see yourself in 10 years?
do you have pets or would you like to have any?
what do you remember most from high school or college?
are you a planner or a go-getter?
If you could only listen to one genre of music for the rest of your life, which one would it be?
what are your favorite drinks/food?
If you could resurrect anyone, who would it be?
have you had any paranormal experiences?
are you comfortable with where you are in your life?
what is your favorite thing to do as a child?
5. Questions to keep a chat conversation going
how to have a good chat conversation? Many people have been asking themselves this question since electronic devices have become essential for our day-to-day conversations. Although maintaining a chat conversation is often a bit difficult for some, it all boils down to two essential points: selecting the right topics and showing interest.likewise, it would not be out of place to also review some WhatsApp tips so that you have all the technical aspects well covered.
While it is true that maintaining a text message conversation can be a challenge, there are effective ways to “click”. Miguel Castuera, Life and executive Coach at Uber for Latin America and teacher of the Coaching Conversation Skills course, comments that:
“First, we have to understand that we are linguistic beings and we communicate through language in its different modalities. Second, language is generative, that is, when we use language, we create new realities. I know. It may seem strange, but think about all that you have generated with just your language: friendships, friendships, successes, failures… because you chose to use those words”.
don’t be nervous and don’t be afraid of the “seen”! Write down the following questions to have a pleasant conversation and show off on Whatsapp.
what do you do?
how was your day?
what kind of music do you like?
how was college/work?
do you have a favorite movie genre?
what series would you recommend me to watch?
what was the worst series you’ve seen so far?
what motivates you the most?
do you have any projects for the future?
what kind of jokes would you never accept?
would you change anything about yourself?
what do you think about (current topic)?
do you agree with what happened in (current topic)?
who is your favorite person?
If you could invent something, what would it be?
If you could change any historical event, what would it be?
Source: Unsplash
Tips to keep a conversation going
In this section, we want to share with you some basic details that experts consider important before interacting with someone. You already have 80 examples of questions to keep a conversation going with which, we are sure, you will manage to keep a conversation going without it being boring. But we could not end this note without the basic tips to keep a conversation going by putting into practice the questions we have taught you above. ready?
Avoid thinking too much about what to say
According to the Social Ability blog, you should consider that, in order to keep a conversation alive, “you should not be afraid of running out of things to say, but of running out of things to want to say”.
In other words, experts say that we should avoid thinking too much about what we say for fear of sounding bored or because the topic we want to enter the conversation is not good enough. To have a casual conversation, you must eliminate censorship.
You don’t need to overthink questions for conversation topics. So why not give yourself the opportunity to engage in small talk? Think of it as a warm-up exercise. You’re testing the waters and then moving on to deeper, more interesting conversations.
Be interested in the conversation
It’s not just thinking of questions to keep the conversation going. In order to connect with others, it is advisable to show real interest in them. have you noticed that some people try to mimic or force their interest in what the other person is saying?
In this sense, there is a key point that gives us all away. Even when you’re thinking about how to continue a conversation or questions to keep a conversation going: body language. If you are having a face-to-face conversation, watch your body language.
A person’s body language says a lot about how they feel. Let’s say you’re in a meeting and you start chatting with someone. A few minutes have passed after you’ve asked a couple of questions to keep the conversation going. You see the person suddenly get up and say they want to go get a drink. It is likely that the conversation is not going well for her.
Being genuinely interested in meeting and talking to others is an act that involves not only knowing how to ask questions so as not to let the conversation die, but also a person’s physical characteristics: standing up straight, projecting a smile, and keeping your arms relaxed. physical features also show the desire to talk to other people!
have you ever interacted with people who only know how to talk about themselves? You asked them a simple question and it was enough to engage them in a long conversation in which you had little or no involvement. In general, although it may seem a little difficult, showing genuine interest is the basis of asking questions to start and maintain a conversation.
Source: Unsplash
Start with a goal in mind
American entrepreneur and speaker Stephen Covey tells us in his book “The 7 Habits ofHighly Effective People” about imagination as a personal visioning habit. He explains that using imagination is an excellent way to visualize in your mind what you cannot see.
So “Start with an end in mind” is Stephen Covey ‘s completely valid advice when you want to ask questions to start a conversation and keep it going. So we advise that the next time you are thinking about what to say in a conversation, ask yourself why you are going to speak:
do you want to have an enjoyable time?
do you want to “win” someone over?
are you looking for a new job?
Whatever your goal is, you will see how it is easier to get in tune with possible conversation topics, which you can use in case you run out of ideas to continue a conversation.
Before deciding how to start a conversation, marking the purpose will allow you to see if the other person is on the same page as you. It sometimes happens that people are not particularly nice for some reason. In these cases, you don’t need to talk for hours. You’ll even feel more comfortable starting a conversation with the option to stay in the conversation or not if things don’t go your way.
Be authentic
Here the first thing to ask ourselves is what it means to be authentic. Giving a simple and clear answer to this question will help you know what to ask in a conversation. Being authentic means working internally on the self. It is acting in a way that is true to yourself and showing your true self, knowing how to express your thoughts and feelings assertively.
don’t you find that your conversations with friends never end in awkward silence? Usually, with people you’ve known for years, conversations are more fluid and you’re not constantly asking yourself, “can I talk about this or not?”
To have an interesting conversation with anyone, you have to be authentic and not think about pleasing everyone no matter what. Remember that the idea you leave in others does not depend entirely on you, everyone forms their own judgments and opinions.
Instead of showing people only one side of you, exposing your whole self in a genuine way is truly what authenticity is all about. Therefore, to succeed in being authentic, you must first know “who the real you is,” which requires three fundamental points: self-awareness, full attention to yourself, and self-acceptance.
Avoid controversial topics
The key to eliminating censorship and maintaining a pleasant conversation in your next interactions is to avoid getting too controversial or personal topics that may be uncomfortable for the other party. Tell anecdotes or stories that have happened to you. For example, delve into topics such as your hobbies, anecdotes from your life and childhood.
Likewise, learning questions so you don’t let the conversation die is also a matter of context. Let’s say you are trying to network, you need to know what to ask in a conversation. It can be tedious, understandably so. Especially if you’ve occasionally found yourself at a corporate networking event with an awkward conversation.
Let’s face it, not everyone has the innate talent to ask the questions to start a conversation and be immediately liked. Especially when you have to meet people with different ideas and different perceptions of life. So what are the conversation topics to avoid if you want to network?
Politics: you can unleash your political opinions with your friends and, of course, on your personal social networks. Yes, Facebook, Twitter and Tik Tok are fine. There you can ask all the questions not to let the conversation die about any hot topic about politics.
Religion: it’s not very comfortable to talk about spiritual or religious topics in public. Besides, you are there to make connections, not to pretend to be Sadhguru.
Personal finances: the relationship you have with money is very different for each person. For some it is a gauge of success, for others it is simply a matter of energy, whatever. It is difficult to know, so it is not necessary to ask this kind of questions to have a conversation when you want to network.
Family matters or relationships: it is normal to be asked questions for a conversation about your partner, your children or some other member of your family. But try to keep it brief and superficial. There is no need to go into detail.
Gossip: a toxic topic of conversation, no matter who you talk to. Talking about rumors in a professional environment is something that never ends well, believe us!
Learn to be an active listener
On the other hand, they also recommend paying close attention to the conversation and the answers to all the questions to keep a conversation going that you decide to ask your companion. If the person is telling you part of his or her day or life, you should pay attention to him or her.
Ask new questions according to the answers you receive, this will show interest. If you pay attention, you won’t have to ask “how do I keep a conversation going ” all the time. You’ll find that the topics flow on their own, the key is to be attentive.
In fact, among all the soft skills important to being a successful professional, active listening is undoubtedly the most valuable. However, true listening is one of the most difficult skills to master.
Most people are not born effective listeners. They are only interested in asking questions to draw out small talk and have a one-way conversation. True listening involves putting aside your personal agenda to better understand the other person’s message. The tricky thing here is that sometimes many people just prefer to be heard but don’t make an effort to actively listen, which often leads to misunderstandings.
Don’t ask yes or no questions
One of the most common mistakes when asking questions to draw out conversation is deciding on questions whose answer only implies a “yes” or “no”:
“Do you live near here?” “No.”
“Do you live in the city?” “Yes.”
“Are you happy living there?” “Yes.”
“Oh, no! Oh, no! Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!” After the third question, your companion is likely to want to go back the way he or she came. If the person you’re talking to isn’t in the mood to talk, these types of questions to keep the conversation from dying will only leave them in agony.
Try going gently with questions to start a conversation in a more interesting way and you’ll get better answers: What do you do outside of work? this is called an open-ended question, which allows the person to steer the conversation to their chosen point of interest.
It’s a good way to make people feel comfortable and find out more about them without having to be too intrusive or overbearing. Listen carefully to their response so that you can reply and keep the conversation going.
Source: Unsplash
Finally, some extra tips on how to keep a conversation going:
Don’t go by logic and opt better for hypotheses or assumptions.
Do not answer in monosyllables and avoid that the questions you ask your interlocutor can be answered in this way.
Ask why and what for, do not remain superficial.
We have reached the end of the note and now you have 80 examples of questions to keep a conversation going to avoid falling into the dreaded awkward silence. Undoubtedly, now you will be able to have an effective conversation at any time, with whomever you want.
Remember that it is important to show interest, be empathetic and not judge what your interlocutor says, so you will avoid falling into difficult conversations. If you want to further develop your skills to communicate efficiently, we invite you to take a look at the Entrepreneurship and Business courses we have for you. That’s all, best wishes!