Any good conversations that I could keep up with my new friends?

You can’t have a “good conversation agenda”. It’s the surest way to a bad conversation, a lecture or an argument.

Simply make observations on what’s around you. (If you don’t want to be considered “catty”, then try to avoid talking about other people who aren’t present.)

Talk about the colors in the room, school events that you’ve been a part of or would like to join, local, national and world events… anything topical or relevant. Talk about common subjects in school, for example.

Once it has started, the conversation should take a life of its own.

Talk about new movies that have come out; movies that you have seen; books that you have read; TV show that you all watch.

The best way to win friends and influence people is to find out and take a sincere interest in their interests. Not in a fake, insincere way, but, finding out what they like and then maybe spending a little time learning about their interests will help you in your conversations.

Mostly it’s just about feeling others out, spending time with them and you will know soon enough, whether or not you have enough in common for it to be a good blend in a friendship. :-)

Thanks :) I’ll try that on Monday…

You need to engage these folks and the easiest way to do that, is to ask them questions about your new town/school and their interests in all sorts of subjects. All good conversation takes a good back and forth flow, so when you ask a question and they give an answer, then throw in something that you either agree or disagree or ask them a more in depth question with regards to whatever they said.

Here’s some sample questions:

“Hey Mary, do you guys ever go to the football games? At my old school, I never really did”

Mary will either say that they do, and then you can ask when the next game is, or if you can tag along, and if they ever do anything like go out for pizza or a movie afterwards and if there are any cute guys on the team.

You’re continued conversation will stem from whatever they say to your questions.

Let’s say that Mary says that she and most of her group are really not into sports. Then you can ask her what kinds of thing she and her friends do like to do. If Mary doesn’t give any good concrete examples or says she doesn’t know, then you can throw in some of your own ideas. “Hey have you guys ever gone hiking up at So and So park? That sounds really fun.” or “I have a camera, but I’ve never really gone out to take specific pictures, do any of you guys take photos? What kinds of things do you like to photograph? Landscapes, people, animals? Maybe we can all plan a little photo excursion and a picnic.”

“Hey you guys, with Thanksgiving coming up, where are you all going for the holiday? Does anyone have any good recipes for pumpkin bread? I was thinking of making some for one of my neighbors. Does anyone want to come over and we can make some cookies or homemade pizza or something like that?”

“Where’s the best place to get a burger around here? I haven’t had a good one in a while.”

“Does this school have a good music program? What about theater? I love that show Glee and I was wondering if our school puts on an annual play? What was the last play they did?”

“Who do you guys think is the hottest guy on TV? I really love Michael Weatherly from NCIS”

Just think about all sorts of things that are already interesting to you, or that you are curious about and then start asking questions. But don’t just be a questioner, join in the conversation by replying back to other people’s answers to keep the conversation going, even if it goes off in a million different directions, that’s OK and even really great!

I notice that the best way to start a conversation with new aquaintences is to talk about their favorite subject, themselves. Ask their age, if they has gone to other schools, what they like in movies or music. That way you can get started and other subjects suggest themselves. I am pretty sure that it works that way regardless of age or gender. Unfortunately, I learned this simple techinque after I got our of high school; it would have certainly come in handy there.

Haha thank you :D That was handy! But sadly, I couldn’t try that today because I was at school and I didn’t see your suggestion :)

Just be you. Becoming knowledgeable about things around you is a good start.