In my last post regarding friendship, it was about coming up with a pickup line for meeting new potential friends- and I brought in the fact that you shouldn’t try to be too awkward when drumming up conversation. That’s helpful – but might not be easy to come up with .
Today I have a simple, but new hint involving self-deprecation- that is – announcing that you’re not perfect. I know its easy for ME to come up with something like that, so , here’s to sharing:
Showing you are vulnerable, giving up your under belly, opening the komona, whatever- these are examples comments that are revealing about yourself that shows that you do not have your act together-
- “I’ve never been to a class like this before, and I’m a little nervous”
- “Wow, this is tougher than it looks – are you any better?”
- “Oh, this is so beautiful! How do you keep this store so clean?”
- “How do you make your child behave so well?”
- “My mind is racing to come up with that woman’s name- do you know who she is?”
By admitting you are one grape short of a bunch, you are letting your own guard down- making it easier for the person you are approaching to not be so guarded themselves- and there’s nothing more awkward than a guarded conversation about… the weather.
Also, by admitting your failing, you give your conversation partner the opportunity to showcase what he or she knows, and that’s a guaranteed way to make even the more guarded person more talkative.
It seems a funny question, but has putting yourself down worked for you?
Friendship for Grown-Ups: What I Missed and Learned Along the Way (Hardcover)
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Looking forward to reading more. Great post. Cool.
It’s sad we can’t just offer an extra cookie to the person sittin gnext to us, like in kindergarten!