Conquering Awkward Conversations (Essay Sample)

Conquering Awkward Conversations
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Good relationships and lasting friendships often start as casual encounters with an acquaintance in the workplace, school, or a social gathering. While it is challenging to make small talk at first, getting past the awkwardness and initiating a conversation may be the start of a good and lasting relationship, hence the need to improve conversation skills.
Most people are good conversationalists when around familiar faces; the same people, however, will have awkward encounters with acquaintances or strangers. One of the main reasons people will have awkward encounters is overthinking and being too self-conscious while trying to make a good impression (de Medeiros et al., 2019). The fear of social rejection makes people not express as much interest in the other person, resulting in polite talk and lost opportunity for a connection. Further, being too self-conscious makes the conversation mentally taxing as one finds the next thing to say, thus missing out on enjoying the conversation.
Since communication is a skill and is especially important in the professional world where forged personal relationships could impact positively in business deals, awkwardness is an impediment. There are a few ways that awkward conversation can be improved. Asking open-ended non-interrogative questions and equally talking about yourself will ease the conversation making it natural and easing the pressure to impress (Morin & Sander, 2020). Active listening shows respect and provides information for conversation threading to a previous topic in case of a sudden awkward silence. Additionally, respect for the other person's privacy by not probing on sensitive issues and seeking opinions and feelings on topics keeps the conversation amicable and comfortable. Therefore the importance of respect and mindfulness to avoid awkward conversations.
Further, being conscious of turn-yielding signals so that the conversation is not one-sided requires one to be actively present, affirming interest in the other person. Knowing what boundaries to keep, how to rescue an awkward moment can reduce awkwardness (Ogawa & Maes, 2020). Also, preparing non-invasive questions that open up to conversations allowing for follow-up questions, will help keep the conversation going. Finally, since visual cues point the direction of the conversation, being actively present will thus avoid awkward