Chatting with someone new could make you nervous as you wish to impress that sweet somebody that you’re becoming acquainted with. However, take a deep breath and relax as all the friends that you’ll find here have been in the same position that you’re in right now.
So, with that in mind, here are some initial conversation starters to get to know someone new before leaping into the deep end.
- Book Interests – Books are a great topic of discussion as it enables you both to reveal what sorts of things you prefer while also making you seem intelligent. Whether you like nonfiction or sci-fi, if you’re into romance novels that provide sizzling sexual encounters, or are into real life events and forensic mystery, sharing what kinds of books you enjoy reading can provide a great amount of detail about oneself.
Books can also provide the opportunity to share small paragraphs of one’s favorite novel, offer up an insightful poem or maybe even read something together to help encourage further interaction and get a true feel for what the other person finds exhilarating when it comes to reading.
- Music Genre – When talking about music, remain open-minded and reframe from being critical if the person you’re speaking with finds a particular genre of music enlightening, even if you don’t appreciate it yourself.
However, music is a topic that should be explored as a vast majority of people do enjoy listening to music as it can be uplifting, may provide memories of experiences past, or even take someone back to a time or event that they’d like to reflect upon.
You may even discover that your friend is musically inclined and can play an instrument, or enjoys singing, which always comes with a positive backstory. Don’t be afraid to explore this topic, even if you don’t share the same flavors of music, as it’s simply a way to further engage and interact.
- Family Orientation – While some people prefer a partner who is dedicated and family oriented, others like people who don’t have too many attachments and have spread their wings to explore the world.
Inquiring about your potential matches family dynamics and beliefs can further elevate the conversation to more in depth topics such as history, where they grew up, how they spend their holiday’s, and whether they’re an only child or come from an extensive line of siblings.
- Career Paths – What someone does with most of their time is a big part of getting to know someone. Teachers, lawyers, office assistants, marketing specialists, and fitness instructors all have different lifestyles and personalities, so it is good to know what a person does for work.
While entertaining this topic, avoid going into detail about finances, or how much a match may or may not make, as this can be offsetting, and can potentially make your phone friend uncomfortable with the direction the conversation has gone in.
Rather, stay light-hearted and provide positive responses, especially when disclosing your own occupation and avoid any confrontational or dark aspects that relate to your job.
- Binge Worthy Television – This is a great thing to talk about as everyone nowadays has at least one streaming service at their fingertips, enabling them plentiful amounts of viewing options. It will help you to discover if your potential match likes comedies, dramas, suspense, or documentaries, therefore allowing you to quietly make your determination on whether you share similar interests. Are they more of a television series type personality, or do they prefer watching movies?
What someone enjoys watching on television to help unwind and relax, can really say a lot about their personality, which when getting to know someone can be quite a tactical move to better understand them without requiring you to be direct.
- Interests & Hobbies – Everyone has an interest or hobby that they enjoy during their spare time, hence this being a perfect thing to know about someone. Everyone must work – but what someone chooses to do in their free time can tell you a lot about them. Do you want someone who is ambitiously jumping out of planes for fun or someone who prefers to experiment in the kitchen cooking or baking in their spare time?
With such an expansive array of hobbies and interests available in this world, getting to know how someone spends their time when they’re not working can really shed some light on whether the 2 of you are potentially compatible for more communication.
Remember, reframe from being critical if something your phone friend shares with you is not something you’d usually find interesting.
- Cuisine Choices – The one thing we all have in common, regardless of our history, genetic make-up, ethnicity, and life choices, we all must eat to survive.
Discovering what foods your match enjoys, dislikes, or avoids altogether can surprisingly initiate quite a variety of conversations which can ultimately expose more detail about them than one might realize.
Learning what your phone friend likes to consume to fuel and energize their bodies with can define who they truly are, what expectations they may have when they dine out, and whether they’re the kind of person who spends a lot of time in the kitchen cooking. Or do they frequent drive-throughs and fast-food locations?
If someone is a vegan, is it for dietary reasons or more of a personal preference?
Do they eat a lot of seafood or are they more of a steak and potatoes person?
Finding out what types of food someone enjoys can really help distinguish someone’s beliefs, and personality traits.
In conclusion, the topics provided will certainly assist with keeping you and your friend engaged in an active conversation, but always remember to pay attention and be interested in what someone else is saying.
Speak in a clear, confident voice, while enabling your call friend the opportunity to respond.
Never speak poorly about yourself or others and be as open and honest as you can be, as this is a quality that everyone looks for in a person, which can broaden your horizons and make for future fun encounters.