It’s been a while since we covered a ‘gatherings’ topic, and we’ve had this one in the bag for a while. How many times have you attended a dinner party and been sat next to someone you didn’t know, and once the initial pleasantries were done, you were hard pressed on what to talk about next? Let’s face it, mingling is a lot harder for some than others, and in some cases, even intimidating.

If you are one of these people, don’t worry. Keep reading for a list of smart and witty conversation starters to help you get through your next barbeque, dinner party or work event.

To start off, keep the small talk to a minimum because they are nothing short of boring. So, once you have your ‘hello’ and ‘nice to meet you’ out of the way, move straight on to something fun and entertaining – starting with ‘so how do you know so & so’ – That being the common person that brought you two together in the first place; work from there and with any luck, and of course assuming the person next to you is not a major dud, the rest should flow quite nicely.

To help you along however, we decided to ask a few yufeed friends for some of their suggestions, and came up with a fun list of conversation starters for you to choose from:

Best Conversation Starters at any Gathering

• Food; always a great topic and one that will typically come up at any dinner party. Ask your new friend if they like to cook, what their favourite food is, and which restaurants they frequent.
• TV Shows; ask them what they’re watching these days, or better yet, tell them what you’ve been watching lately and find out if they are too! Suggesting a show you think they might like is a good idea, as this automatically gives you something to discuss next time you see each other.
• Travel Plans; a favourite amongst most people, especially if you’re approaching a holiday season and typically makes for a very helpful ice breaker.
• Latest trends; such as fashion, social media, health, diet and fitness. For this, I say do your best and take a few seconds to gauge the person you are talking to before deciding what area to cover.
• Family and kids; perhaps the easiest conversation starter for people with kids; you’re definitely bound to find something in common. Side note however, if the person next to you does NOT have any children, then please refrain from talking too much about yours.

These are just a few to get you thinking. Though there are endless things to choose from, don’t overthink any of them too much. Simply relax and ease your way into the conversation. And remember, this is not a prison; if you find that you are not connecting at all with a person (or persons), simply find a polite way to excuse yourself and move on to someone else or change the subject.

Any clever conversation starters you readers would like to share?