How to make friends and influence people

Sometimes it’s hard to know what to talk about with new people. Farah

bushnaq is the founder of End Small Talk, a series of events for people who want to make new friends that take place at TwoFour54

What kind of topics do you talk about?

The topics vary from existentialist, philosophical questions to ordinary questions you might not have thought of before. We avoid topics on religion or politics, but the aim is to go outside your comfort zone and question the things you think you know. The first hour or so [you] meet different people and go through questions on your own, then we bring everyone together for a group discussion towards the end on a prechosen topic. For our first event the topic was about happiness, and the second event was about love... so they are definitely topics everyone can relate to. What are your biggest tips for starting a conversation with strangers? I guess our biggest tip would be to be bold. And not be afraid to ask a meaningful question, especially to a stranger... you’d be surprised at how positive the reactions would be, and it is sure to make your outings more memorable. We’ve even created small “convo cards” (small enough to fit in your pocket or purse) with deep questions printed to encourage people to keep having meaningful conversations and spread the movement outside of the event. When is the next end small talk due to take place? Our next event takes place on Saturday September 19.

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