7 Questions to Start a Conversation With a Guy or Girl

Starting a conversation with other people can seem a difficult, an almost impossible task. Especially if you do not know the other person very well, or find that they are either shy or less than enthusiastic about talking with you, trying to start a conversation with basic statements or closed-questions gets you nowhere fast. Instead, try any (or all) of these 7 questions to get your conversation started with anyone.

#1 - What is your favorite food?
This is a great way to start a conversation, especially if neither you nor your counterpart have eaten yet, because everyone has a favorite food, and will usually tell you why this food is their favorite. It also offers you a great opportunity to tell them your favorite food, and such a conversation can expand to many other places.

#2 - If you could describe your perfect day, what would it be like?
This question helps kick off a conversation through allowing the other person to explore their own imagination and concoct an ideal day spent doing whatever they want to.

#3 - What is your one guilty pleasure?
This is a great conversation starter because it not only puts your counterpart on their toes in a fun way, it prompts them to reveal a part of themselves they may not have planned on sharing.

#4 - Have you ever traveled outside of the country?
This conversation starter often leads to vivid descriptions of other places and funny travel stories, or if the other person has not traveled out of the country, this question gets them talking about where they'd like to go and what they'd like to see. Follow it up with stories and anecdotes about your own travels abroad, or where you'd like to go one day.

#5 - If you had $1 million dollars, what would you do with it?
You can tell a lot about people with this conversation starter question. Questions that get your conversation partner thinking a little outside of the box, and push them to use their imaginations often lead to better, more meaningful conversations. This question gets most people fantasizing about leaving the day-to-day rat race and taking control of their own destinies.

#6 - What is your goal for the year?
This is good question to ask to get people talking about themselves, and the positive things they wish to accomplish during the calendar year.

#7 - What is your dream job?
Along the lines of question #5, this conversation starter gets people imagining what they think of as their perfect job. You will likely be surprised that most people never mention money when this question is posed to them.

Continue to improve your conversation skills and learn ways to talk to anyone to make friends wherever you go.