wanted to now how I can break into or segue into a conversat

[workaholic]

ion within a tight social group who talks about nothing but what someone they know did. I find that most social groups talk about themselves alot..sharing info on what this person bought or did, or said to another person. When people speak it reminds me of "The Continuing Story So far.."

 

Now for an individual who is new to the social group, (and only if they're open and friendly to the individual) should he or she start disclosing or sharing information about what he or she is doing? To start things off?

 

Example: A boy named Thomas is at a party where a group of dudes are talking about skiing. Thomas is close by, listens in, laughs with the group even though they completely ignore his prescense and never ask him a question like "hey, man..do you ski as well?"

Thomas suddenly hears that one of the friends in the group has gone to a ski resort he's familiar with. Thomas says "I went there before as well! Did you go up Danger Peak?"

And then hopefully the other person would say "Yeah, I went down that peak seven times! My brother and I, blah blah blah"

 

Now, I have been Thomas in real life, but whenever I put my two cents into a group conversation amongst friends I get ignored or looked at.

But is this the way that some of you guys have joined social groups?

In my night class there are two guys talking about a variety of stuff before lecture begins. I am within earshot of them so if I wanted to I could say something that adds to the conversation. But I honestly don't know if that can eventually lead to a friendship. We'll see.

[DiscipleOfChange]

You should go for it man. Here's the thing, if they're welcoming to new people, especially if you have someting in common with them, then it will probably work out. Don't go into it expecting to make life long friends though. Sometimes people hit it off, other times not. Roll the dice and be your own person.

 

~Mark

 

A helpful question I ask myself every morning is "Who the man?" And the answer, of course, is "You the man" Tell yourself that and it will all work out

[Scout]

Absolutely, I agree with the above poster. Keep trying your social skills out with groups of people or individuals. It's like riding a bike, it takes practice to smoothly walk the middle line between being a great listener and an interesting conversationalist. The good news is, with practice, it can easily be accomplished.

 

Kudos to you for wanting to interact with others and improve your social skills! Sadly, there are many people who are too painfully shy and scared to make these efforts, and end up missing out on many opportunities to forge solid friendships.

 

I would suggest that you be a bit discerning about the groups you try to get friendly with - for example, do not make popularity your first standard in the kind of people you want to meet, but rather, people with wide and varied interests, or just generally decent in attitude and how they treat others.