101 Conversation Starters People Love Below are 101 types of conversation starters to use on your first date, at a party, in business, with guys or girls, or on family and friends. The 101 great conversation openers are simple and effective. Do not be fooled. The most important point to remember when using any conversation starter is they aim to start the conversation. “Ice-breakers” break the ice; they don’t heat up the planet and make mother nature flourish. (Tweet this.) Conversation openers are not intended to make people laugh or get people to like you. What Makes a Great Conversation Starter? Watch this video for an amazing exercise you can do with me to create over 30 conversation starters that work for you The best conversation starters are situation-specific. ‘Ice-breakers’ break the ice; they don’t heat up the planet and make mother nature flourish. Here’s an exercise to help you develop excellent openers. Having done that, you already have 30 amazing conversation starters. “I’m [your first name].” Phew!
Get Anyone to Like You – Instantly – Guaranteed Get anyone to like you - Instantly - Guaranteed If you want people to like you, make them feel good about themselves. This golden rule of friendship works every time - guaranteed! The principle is straightforward. If I meet you and make you feel good about yourself, you will like me and seek every opportunity to see me again to reconstitute the same good feeling you felt the first time we met. Unfortunately, this powerful technique is seldom used because we are continually focused on ourselves and not others. The simple communication techniques that follow will help you keep the focus of the conversation on the person you are talking to and make them feel good about themselves. The Big Three Our brains continually scan the environment for friend or foe signals. Eyebrow Flash The eyebrow flash is a quick up and down movement of the eyebrows. Head Tilt The head tilt is a slight tilt of the head to one side or the other. Smile A smile sends the message "I like you." Empathic Statements Example 1
Tipping etiquette in a frugal world - Raleigh Etiquette People in the Raleigh area are always asking me about tipping etiquette. In these days where we are penny pinching every last cost, how do we fairly tip those who depend on these tips as part of their income? First, it’s a personal opinion of Etiquette Amy that practice of people having to depend on tips is horrible. They work hard to provide a service to people for a low price, then in order to supplement that low price they depend on tips for good service. It’s not the service people at the heart of the issue for me, it’s the practice itself. Practice standards aside, tipping is here to stay. Who do you tip? Anyone who provides you a service: wait staff, hairstylist, groomers, bellhops, delivery person, taxi driver, etcetera. How much do you tip? For services that are attached to a purchase (dinner, haircut, groomers) the average is 20%. For actual services (bellhop, delivery) that figure changes with trends. If the service is horrible is it better to tip nothing or a penny?
How to speak a language well in just two months Want to speak Spanish well, speak French well, speak German well, or any language for that matter? If I can do this with Czech starting from zero, imagine what you can do! I’d like to summarise everything I’ve discussed on the site regarding my first intensive language experiment, before I move on to my next one. Feel free to click the links to read more into depth about each point, as this article also links to all articles over the last 3 months. [Edit: this post is just a summary of some ideas I apply when learning languages. I was initially aiming for fluency in 3 months, but unfortunately I had to stop short at just two months. When starting to learn a language, make sure you have the right attitude to it; an optimistic viewpoint is essential and half of the battle in progressing in a language. Get yourself an inexpensive phrasebook to keep in your pocket/purse to take out and study in little 2-minute windows during the day whenever you have to wait.
Dulce de Chocolate Cake August 2, 2011 Dulce de Chocolate Cake I figured a gargantuan slice of chocolate cake was in order this morning. You see, this past weekend Scott and I signed a contract to officially add on a breakfast room addition and a screened-in porch to our existing home. This idea has been sloshing around between us for the past two years and to see it finally come to fruition is nothing short of exciting! Aside from the need to celebrate in true chocolate style, this cake was also inspired by my new found addiction knowledge of homemade dulce de leche. Apart from eating the entire can with a spoon, I simply had to create a recipe. I’m sure you’re ready to bake up your own slice so let’s get cooking shall we? Start out by scraping up a little quality chocolate. Chop up the bar and add it to the bowl with a bit of the cocoa powder. In a mixing bowl cream together a pile of butter and a couple cups of sugar. Mix it together and then add in a bit of mayonnaise. Take a look at that work of art.