talking 101

     Probably the best thing about being in Ateneo is (are?) the people you meet, because Ateneo is a hodgepodge of interesting people. Ateneans come in all shapes and sizes, and with such a huge range of interests, abilities, and personalities, the campus is a melting pot of different voices, different backgrounds, different ambitions and dreams and goals.

     Now I'm not exactly an extrovert (my Myers-Briggs personality type indicator tells me I'm 10 points shy of being one), but I'm finding it easier and easier to talk to people now more than ever. I found a very very old blog post of mine that I wrote way back in 2007, and in it, I incoherently ramble about how I don't know how to carry a conversation with some people:

I don’t know how to properly introduce ideas and properly begin a paragraph, so I’ll just come right out and say it:

I can’t talk.

Well, I CAN talk, but I can’t carry a conversation. I mean, I can, but only with my close friends.

I dunno what’s wrong with me! I’ve seen my friends do it all the time! They have no trouble socializing at all. They just... talk!

I know. What an intelligent and eloquent writer I was back in second year, right? :|

Anyway, things are different in college. With so many different topics to talk about, starting a conversation shouldn't be a problem.

Exhibit A. Let's say you're at an org assembly, and you want to get to know some of your orgmates. What on Earth do you say? :O :O :O

Easy! Just follow my tried-and-tested recipe to a decent conversation.

Step 1. Start by asking the most fundamental questions, e.g. What year are you? What's your course?
Step 2. From the information provided by conversation partner, define your variables (Let x = year; y = course, etc.) and try to commit them to memory. Mentally match said partner's face with given data for use in future conversations.
Step 3. Formulate an inquisitive sentence about said partner's year and course, and plug in the necessary values to the variables acquired in the previous step. Possible syntax: "Oh, how's life going for a [x]th-year [y] student?" i.e. "How's life as a Management Engineering freshman?"
Step 4. Continue with the interpolation pertaining to the data variables already derived, adding more and more variables as new information is presented by conversation partner.
Note 4.2. Try to find the intersection between your own set of values and the set supplied by your partner. ("You're a dormer? I'm a dormer too!"; "You're from ICA? I have a blockmate from there. Do you know [insert possible common friend's name here]?")
Step 5. Repeat Step 4 until all possible branches of conversation have been exhausted. What to do after that, I have yet to figure out.

Haha. I'm not serious about this, if you haven't realized by now. Sorry to burst your bubble guys, but there is no REAL recipe to a good conversation. And if there were, then I'd the farthest from knowing it.

'Til next time :)