One of my biggest struggles, growing up, was talking to people. I was a very shy person when I was little, and conversations were not my cup of tea. The only thing that would come out of my mouth was a low toned “hi” and that was it. Time went by and eventually, I was able to grow out of my shell, but I was still not good at having conversations. I didn’t struggle with what to say, but I struggled with how to keep a conversation going, especially for thirty minutes or more. Eventually, I was able to develop conversation skills through an internship, and I learned that asking people questions is a great way to keep a conversation going and learn more about others.
For collegiate women, sometimes you may hit a block and don’t know what to talk about next. Before recruitment weekend, I wrote down some questions and memorized them. When the time came, I was ready for a full day of talking to new people. The trick is to remember you are making a friend. Ask questions that you want to know about a friend.
But, if you’re like me and you struggle with keeping a one on one conversation going, here are some ‘ice-breaking’ questions that can help make the conversation flow.
Questions to Ask
How do you like the campus life so far?
What’s your major and why did you choose it?
Where are you from? (If they are out of state, why did they choose to go you your school?)
Why did you go out for recruitment/why do you want to join a sorority?
Are you interested in philanthropy? If so, what philanthropies are you interested in? (If they don’t know what philanthropy is, briefly explain it to them.
What are some of your interests?
Are you currently involved with clubs/sports/community service/ etc. on campus?
Are you interested in developing leadership skills?
For any of these questions, you can continue to dig in deeper. If you ask someone what their passion is and they tell you they love to draw, ask them why instead of moving onto the next question. If you can get people talking about what they love and why, the conversation will go much faster than you want it to.