Comments on: Quicktips: Starting Conversations

By: Linkage is Good for You: Thievery Edition | In Mala Fide

Linkage is Good for You: Thievery Edition | In Mala Fide — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 02:13:50 +0000

[...] T. aka Ricky Raw – “Quicktips: Starting Conversations” [...]

By: Laikastes

Laikastes — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:49:18 +0000

T.,

I get where you’re coming from with this post, but I think some of these conversation openers really depend on context. For example, if I were on the subway and a stranger came up to me and launched with “Yo”, “Hey”, or the G Manifesto’s “Listen to this” or “Check this out”, I would give that person the bare minimum response and then ignore them. Those are all too chummy too quickly and overly aggressive – maybe I don’t want to listen to or check out anything you have to say, mack. Friendly eye contact and a simple “Hello” works.

But if I were in a bar sitting around a table with a friend and a few other people I’ve never met before, then any of those others would be more acceptable.

And while I agree that most of the apologetic openers you list may be too much so, I think “Excuse me” is pretty mild and just standard politeness. You’re not apologizing for existing – it’s just a standard polite way to get someone’s attention.

Oh, and post more frequently – I always enjoy reading what you have to say.

By: The G Manifesto

The G Manifesto — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 07:00:20 +0000

Good post.

I often use “Listen to this,…”

Or “Check this out, …”

- MPM

By: Miggy

Miggy — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 06:09:37 +0000

cool post, definitely useful.

By: Nora

Nora — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 06:06:19 +0000

THIS is why I am signed up… what a great article. Thank you!!

By: G

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 22:01:36 +0000

I understand the premise of the post but in my opinion when dealing with middle aged ,middle, and upper middle class people saying ” excuse me” for instance seems to be the norm. Although I am aware that given a particular situation there is probably a better throat clearer available but when working in corporate America or dealing with polite society the the frequency in use of apologetic throat closers are seemingly contagious.

By: E

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:28:16 +0000

This is useful at the office, too. In today’s multi-tasking world, who knows what the other guy is thinking about when you approach him. You need to focus his thoughts onto the right spot so start broad and work your way inward. I usually start like this:

“You know that project for customer XYZ?” (wait for acknowledgement)

“…and the issue with the part ABC?” (wait for ack)

“We discuessed solving the problem by doing ____” (wait again)

“Instead, we can ..” (go ahead and explain you piece)

I’ve found that the extra time I spend before I get into the details saves me even more time and the frustration of having explained half the issue and then suddenly hearing, “Wait, start over, what are we talking about?”

By: Carl Sagan

Carl Sagan — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 01:33:51 +0000

This was a really useful post.

Bookmarked.