The clock is ticking. You have 7 seconds to make a good first impression. You check the mirror to make sure you look your best. You breathe into your cupped palms and pass the sniff test. You go to your event, where you make friendly eye contact and smile. So far, so good.

Don't blow that good first impression when you open your mouth to start a conversation with women...or men. Avoid these 3 conversation starter clichés like the plague. At the end of this article you'll find out how to sustain a good first impression.

Are YOU a stale old cliché? Of course not. Then don't use clichés because they make you look dull as a doorknob. And you open yourself up to massive sarcasm.

3 Examples of How to Derail Your Chances to Start a Good Conversation

Cliché #1. You say, "What’s a nice person like you doing in a joint like this?"

He or she says: 
"I thought about going to Alcoholics Anonymous, but it's cheaper therapy to come here and drink than to spend the gas to get to an AA meeting. Later on, I'm gonna buy new  kitchen knives because I had to throw a few in the river last week after someone asked me that same question."

Comment:
You deserved that splatter of sarcasm because your conversation question is stale, stale, stale. On top of that, you're criticizing somebody's taste in joints. If you think sombody's taste is rotten, what are you doing talking to them? And what are you doing in that same joint? Didn't your mother tell you about that birds-of-a-feather thing?

Cliché #2. You say, "Do you come here often?"

He or she yawns and says: 
"Only when I'm trolling for trout. Is that you, Fish Face?"

Comment: 
Do you care if you sound like a dull character in a dull movie? Is there a droplet of creativity in your whole body, or do you like swimming upstream in clichés and small talk?

Cliché #3. You say, "Hey, What's up?"

He or she lays a pair of beady eyes on you and says:
"Not much."  

Comment:
End of conversation. You have failed to start a good conversation or even a bad one. It seems you are doomed to a life without even small talk. At least you didn't get skewered like a shish kabob.

What to Do Instead: How to Sustain a Good First Impression

At the beginning of this article, you started out looking your best, as you should. Now you must take care of one more thing: your brain. Don't go to the party, bar, or event empty headed. Bring some good conversation questions with you.

Where will you find them? Here are 3 ideas:

1. Read the newspaper; it's the mother lode of conversation topics.
2. If you want to know how to talk to women, look at the covers of magazines such as Oprah and Cosmopolitan. Practice turning the teaser copy into thought-provoking questions.
3. Download free conversation starters from the internet.

Get your *free* copy of "15 Fun, Free, and Original Ice Breakers & Conversation Questions for Parties, Dates, and Hanging Out With Friends." Go to http://www.queenofconversation.com/15-Sure-Fire-Conversation-Starters.html

Boost your Conversation IQ with tips, articles, and good conversation topics. Check out my blog at http://www.queenofconversation.com/ConversationBlog 

©Tracey E. Bennett, The Queen of Conversation

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