Chamberlain - Conversation Starters : 1,000 Creative Ways to Talk to Anyone about Anything

Copyright 2014 Kim Chamberlain

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

Skyhorse Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or .

Skyhorse and Skyhorse Publishing are registered trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

Visit our website at www.skyhorsepublishing.com.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Eve Siegel

Print ISBN: 978-1-62914-535-8

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-62914-908-0

Printed in the United States of America

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to Conversation Starters , a book for creative people who would like to have conversations ranging from the traditional, the interesting and the unique, through to the quirky.

Why a conversation starters book that includes quirky questions for creative people?

Conversation has many aspects and is often made up of layers, a bit like an onion. On the face of it, it may appear that we are having a simple conversation, but peel away a layer or two and you may find other issues beneath the surface.

For example, in the previous conversation starters book, Woman to Woman , the underlying purpose of the conversation starters is twofold: to help people work on developing their conversation skills and to help with building relationships through conversation.

The underlying aims of this book are to provide the opportunity for you to:

Develop your thinking skills: stimulate your brain and keep your mind sharp and flexible; try new or different ways of thinking; mentally grapple with new concepts; learn from others.

Develop creativity: take your brain to a space where the creative juices can flow.

Enhance problem-solving skills: develop new and unusual ways of looking at issues; try out different strategies; gain a new angle on logic and reasoning.

Develop conversation skills: work on your speaking skills and techniques.

Have fun!

A very easy book to dip into, Conversation Starters is suitable for people of all ages and contains conversation-starter topics that are thought-provoking, intellectual, thorny, unusual, lighthearted, and amusing.

Being creative allows you to produce new ideas and new thoughts. The conversation starters provide the opportunity for new ways of looking at issues; a chance to be listened to; a chance to work out what your thoughts are on a topic; an opportunity to discuss serious issues; a way to connect with others; an avenue to learn new things; a way to find out more about other people; as well as a chance for fun and laughter. They may allow you to open up new areas of discussion, perhaps discuss a subject you havent talkedor even thoughtabout before.

Even if you wouldnt describe yourself as creative, using the book will give you the chance to think in creative ways.

The topics offer a great way to be able to move away from traditional conversation themes, along with the opportunity to develop your speaking and communication skills.

USING THE BOOK

O ne of the benefits of this book is that you can use it for as long or short a period as you like, either in one-on-one situations or in a group. You can simply dip into it when you are with others and would like to have a quick conversation; you can use it for more in-depth conversations; you can use it for icebreakers; and you can create the right environment and use it as a way to build deeper connections or mentally tackle an issue with other people. You can even use the starters on your own to learn how to formulate responses, develop your creative-thinking and problem-solving skills, and work on your conversation skills.

In addition to the 1,000 conversation starters, the book includes tips, techniques, and quotes relating to four aspects of quirky conversation starters: Creativity, Conversation, Thinking in New and Different Ways, and Problem Solving.

1. How the book is organized

Developing conversation skills

This section contains a simple overview as to what conversation is about, the fundamental principles of conversing with others, and several aspects you can work on to develop your speaking skills. It is complemented by the quotes about conversation included throughout the book.

Developing creative thinking and problem-solving skills

This section provides you with suggestions you can use when working through the book, or to use in general life. It includes a range of techniques and strategies to develop your creative thinking and problem-solving skills.

Conversation starters

The starters are grouped into one hundred different topic sections, each containing ten questions or starters. The topic sections are in alphabetical order starting with Adverts, wending their way through many and wide-ranging topics, and ending with Your Call!

The starters fall into many different types of categories, including ones that pose hypothetical questions (If you had to classify all the books in a library into just three main categories, what categories would you choose?); ones that put forward new concepts and ask for your views on them (What could be the benefits of combining a dog grooming parlor and a vegetarian caf?); different ways of using traditional items (What else could you use underpants for?); topics that you wouldnt generally address in regular conversation (What would you ask Billy the Kid if you were to interview him?); plus an opportunity to be an advice columnist who gives quirky but useful advice.

At the end of the book there is space for you to make a note of any of your favorite starters or to compile some of your own.

Quotes

Quotes can provide interesting insights into topics, and different angles to view issues from. They can help develop your thinking about an issue and perhaps give you an outlook you hadnt considered before.

There are dozens of quotes on different topics by a wide variety of people included among the conversation starters. They fall into four categories:

Those relating to conversation skills (CO)

Those relating to creativity (CR)

Those relating to thinking differently (TD)

Those relating to problem solving (PS)

The letters (CO), (CR), (TD), or (PS) will be found in front of each quote.

2. How to deal with quirky questions and conversation starters

Create a safe environment

Make it safe

If people are going to move away from conventional ways of looking at things, and talk about and share fresh and different ways of thinking and problem solving, its important to create a safe environment they can do this in. It is not uncommon for people to have experienced some form of ridicule or punishment in the past if they have made a mistake or done something unconventional, so people will be reticent to open up if they fear their views will not be appreciated.

Establish a framework of mutual trust so that people can:

Say exactly what they want to say without fear of derision or judgment, especially if youre in a group that includes someone with a dominant personality.