DIY Life

You probably spent Thanksgiving with your family and friends. If you were lucky enough to find time between cooking and serving, you enjoyed some meaningful conversation and reflected on how grateful you are to have such a wonderful group to gather with. Monday morning rolls around and the people you are closest to have driven back to their houses and you all start another regular week with the people you share less significant relationships with.

You'll find yourself standing in line tomorrow morning at the coffee shop, riding the elevator to your office, getting on with your day, lingering in the lunch room, chatting about work, the weather and how busy the malls are. You might start to miss the evocative conversations you had with close friends and family over the weekend. This doesn't have to stop when you get back to the daily grind. You can have meaningful interactions anywhere.

How to start meaningful conversations coaches us through the awkward moments of initiating and sustaining significant conversation. I think the most important tip is starting on the right note. When we're at a loss for a topic of conversation we so often find something we can commonly gripe about. A nasty boss, the weather, the long line are all easy ways to start a conversation, but they do nothing to enrich either of your experiences and you'll probably both leave the interaction more pissed than you started. Instead, start on a positive note. When you're standing in line at the coffee shop, turn to the guy behind you and say "boy are those girls working hard this morning. I'm barely awake and they're running full steam. I love how they've decorated the shop!" Imagine what a different mood you've created than "What a bunch of idiots behind the counter. I've been waiting 20 min. How hard can it be to make a coffee?"

The conversations don't have to be long, but make your goal to have each interaction positive and somehow significant. Give it a try.

[via: Lifehacker]