BalanceOctober2016 - 15
,
k
l
a
t
small
I CE BREA KERS
big
s
n
o
i
s
s
e
r
imp
Dates, job interviews, meeting the
parents... conversation is crucial,
but can you improve your skills?
Sophie Goddard finds out if a
workshop can turn things around
Has solitude (and social
media) meant I've lost the
knack of good conversation?
And is it possible to get it back?
Could the answers, I wondered,
be found at The School of Life's How
to Have Better Conversations course?
A workshop investigating the psychology
and philosophy of 'good' conversation
sounded interesting - the prospect of having
more enjoyable, less stilted, conversations
was undeniably appealing.
R
ecently, a friend of mine was queuing
for the water cooler at work when he
politely let a female colleague fill up
her flask first. 'Go ahead, I've got
a big one,' he muttered absent-mindedly,
motioning towards his water bottle. The
woman burst out laughing and he, stunned
into a silence on realising his faux pas, now
buys a fresh bottle each day to avoid the water
cooler. Office small talk fail.
While my water cooler chat isn't quite that
cringe-worthy, I've found myself struggling with
small talk recently. And, as a journalist working
at home alone, I worry I'm getting worse at it.
From dates to breakfast meetings, sometimes
it feels like I'm churning out the same old stories
or, worse, have nothing much to say at all.
BUSINESS AND PLEASURE
Most of us
struggle
with small
talk. But
if you can
start a
discussion
in an
interesting
way, half the
battle is won
October 2016 BALANCE
Sat in a room with 20 or so others, it became
apparent that we weren't all there for the same
reason. 'I'm here for business,' one smartly
dressed man piped up. 'When I ask colleagues
about the football, I get more from them
- they're more likely to help me out,' he said,
with a shrug. Another wanted help with his love
life. 'When a date is talking, I'm not listening to
them - I'm thinking of the next question to
ask because I hate silences,' he admitted.
15
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of BalanceOctober2016
BalanceOctober2016 - 1
BalanceOctober2016 - 2
BalanceOctober2016 - 3
BalanceOctober2016 - 4
BalanceOctober2016 - 5
BalanceOctober2016 - 6
BalanceOctober2016 - 7
BalanceOctober2016 - 8
BalanceOctober2016 - 9
BalanceOctober2016 - 10
BalanceOctober2016 - 11
BalanceOctober2016 - 12
BalanceOctober2016 - 13
BalanceOctober2016 - 14
BalanceOctober2016 - 15
BalanceOctober2016 - 16
BalanceOctober2016 - 17
BalanceOctober2016 - 18
BalanceOctober2016 - 19
BalanceOctober2016 - 20
BalanceOctober2016 - 21
BalanceOctober2016 - 22
BalanceOctober2016 - 23
BalanceOctober2016 - 24
BalanceOctober2016 - 25
BalanceOctober2016 - 26
BalanceOctober2016 - 27
BalanceOctober2016 - 28
BalanceOctober2016 - 29
BalanceOctober2016 - 30
BalanceOctober2016 - 31
BalanceOctober2016 - 32
BalanceOctober2016 - 33
BalanceOctober2016 - 34
BalanceOctober2016 - 35
BalanceOctober2016 - 36
BalanceOctober2016 - 37
BalanceOctober2016 - 38
BalanceOctober2016 - 39
BalanceOctober2016 - 40
BalanceOctober2016 - 41
BalanceOctober2016 - 42
BalanceOctober2016 - 43
BalanceOctober2016 - 44
BalanceOctober2016 - 45
BalanceOctober2016 - 46
BalanceOctober2016 - 47
BalanceOctober2016 - 48
BalanceOctober2016 - 49
BalanceOctober2016 - 50
BalanceOctober2016 - 51
BalanceOctober2016 - 52
BalanceOctober2016 - 53
BalanceOctober2016 - 54
BalanceOctober2016 - 55
BalanceOctober2016 - 56
BalanceOctober2016 - 57
BalanceOctober2016 - 58
BalanceOctober2016 - 59
BalanceOctober2016 - 60
BalanceOctober2016 - 61
BalanceOctober2016 - 62
BalanceOctober2016 - 63
BalanceOctober2016 - 64
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BALANCE_MARCH_2020
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BALANCE_FEBRUARY_2020
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/balancejanuary2020
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BALANCE_DECEMBER_2019
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BALANCE_NOVEMBER_19
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BALANCE_OCTOBER_2019
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/balanceseptember2019
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/balancejuly2019
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/Balance_June_2019
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/balancemay2019
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/balance_april_2019
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceMarch19
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceFebruary19
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceJanuary2019
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceDecember2018
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceNovember2018
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceOctober2018
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceSeptember2018
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceAugust2018
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceJuly2018
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceJune2018
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceMay2018
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceApril2018
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceMarchIssue2018
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceFebruary18
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceJanIssue2018
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/balancedecember2017
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/balancenovember2017
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceOctober2017
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceSeptIssue2017
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceJulyIssue2017
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceJuneIssue2017
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceMayIssue2017
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceAprilIssue2017
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceMarchIssue17
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceFebruaryIssue2017
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceJanuaryIssue2017
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceDecember2016
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceNovember2016
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceOctober2016
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceSeptember2016
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceJuly2016
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceJune2016
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceMay2016
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceLaunchEditionApril2016
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/Balance2016
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/BalanceNov
http://europe.nxtbook.com/emp/Balance/Balance
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com