The worst conversational crime to commit is a 1-word response.
How are you? Good.
How was your workout? Good.
How was the movie? Okay.
The 1-word responses are conversational killers. Avoid them at all cost.
“Every question is an opportunity to tell a story.”
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The fallacy many of us carry around is … Stories have to be interesting.
Not necessarily, not always. Here is an example.
How are you?
“My back was hurting for the last two days, but I’m doing much better.”
This gives the other person an opportunity to ask – “How did you hurt your back?”
If they don’t continue … “I was helping a friend move apartments and ended up picking something really heavy. How about you, what’s new with you these days?”
I hope this shows you how stories allow conversations to not only continue but be interesting and memorable.
Now, at the end your story, if you follow-up with another question, even better.
Just remember two things.
- Avoid 1-word responses.
- Every question is an opportunity to tell stories.
