Thestupidest questions around are always those about evident things. This is a statement subjected to no debate. We all frowned about such a question at least once in our lives. Such questions, apparently rhetorical but actually far from being intended as such, can leave you paralyzed. Should you answer, should you just point at the answer, should you laugh, should you resent having to waste your energy?

The best thing to do is take the time to answer calmly and then be very careful not to later ask such a question yourself.

Let’s see some examples of such questions as the situations that make then so dumb. When a friend falls and starts crying, asking him if it hurts is definitely dumb and risky if the other person gets annoyed easily. If your mother starts screaming after she cuts her finger and you go into the kitchen and ask if she cut her finger don’t be surprised if she answers that she bit if off.

Asking for directions across the street from the place you want to go to is undoubtedly seen as dumb. Asking a help desk if it can help you with exactly what is posted in large letters above might also be considered dumb.

Self-evident questions aren’t the only dumb questions we should avoid. Other questions can be just as dumb depending a lot on the situations and circumstances in which you choose to ask your question. There are also some dumb questions that are stupid no matter the circumstance.

A perfect example is asking: “What do batteries run on?” This question’s only chance of not annoying others is the fact that it’s quite funny and could make anybody laugh out loud and then worry about the way they look in the situation.

Dumb questions can also be used as voluntary jokes and you don’t have to seem stupid if you tell it as a joke. If you ask what should you tell God if while you’re talking with him He sneezes. This is guaranteed to make people laugh and the only person who would perceive you as stupid simply has no sense of humor or has not got the joke, which doesn’t tell us something good about him.

Other funny question that seem silly can actually be perceived as whit. If you ask: “If crime doesn’t pay does that mean that my job is a crime?”, people will laugh and appreciate your elaborate sense of humor.

Back to truly dumb questions, there’s one more we should make sure to always avoid are the inappropriate ones. Don’t ask your father-in-law what you would ask your best friend and don’t ask your lover what you would ask your mother.

How can we define what’s weird? Is it something exponentially stupid, or something inadequate or just something we don’t seem to understand? Either way, people would least of all start a conversation with anything that can seem even remotely weird. Communication is fragile enough already. Play safe when you approach somebody. Let the weirdness kick in later if it is a must.

What are weird conversation starters we should all avoid? Specific examples can be given but you’ll have to judge for yourself if what you’re thinking of as a conversation starter is similar to these examples. And now, the number one question you should never start a conversation with is this: “I spoke to Jesus last night, Jesus Christ.” This has no place in a common day-to-day conversation. In fact, religious subjects are generally the least recommended subjects with which to start a conversation. Nowadays, with all the prophets going around people are bound to immediately suspect that you want to convert them to some cult. So, if that’s the case, you should slip it in later in the conversation.

Next in the top of weird conversation starters is this one: “Wanna see something weird?” This is by definition a weird conversation starter. It might get the other person slightly interested but even so it is sure you’ll never have that person for a friend. Let’s move on with another starter better left unsaid: “You remind me of a cell mate of mine.” This is a good example of an entire category of bad conversation starters. All things related to a suspicious or weird past should be avoided. Why encourage prejudice about yourself? Give yourself a chance not to be judged by your past.

“Watch this..” is another example of a top of the list weird conversation starter. What could you possibly want somebody to see with no adequate introduction? That’s definitely a surprise factor with little chances of earning you admiration and respect.

Knock, knock jokes are most of the time considered to be a weird conversation starter but they can easily be given a positive spin. An appropriate and good knock knock joke can make you look adorable. It’s still weird of course but weird is not necessarily always a bad thing.

Still, a question remains. Are “did you know” facts weird conversation starters? They are a little forced but they can be very effective and even interesting. Well this is easy to answer. If you’re in a cafe and the “did you know” starter is similar to this: “Did you know that an ostrich’s eye is bigger than his brain?” than you are definitely weird. If you’re in the café, having a soda and the starter resembles to this one: ” Did you know that Coca Cola was originally green?” then you still have a chance at sounding normal. The idea is that you have to adapt the starter to the situation. This also means that a weird situation can also call for a weird conversation starter.

With all the teen hypes around and all the flourishing market of teen culture and especially media products there’s really no difficulty in for teens to interact with each other. But can you also truly relate to one another? Adolescence is a pretty uncomfortable time in many ways because we undergo many changes and most of them are very visible. We have to start being more responsible and our presence is felt more and more as that of somebody who should have something to say. We are subjected to constant evaluation and we experience new feelings and pressures.

Can we then just go out and have conversations about movies, bands and collections items? Yes we can. Movies, music, books and hobbies are the best way to relate to others. When you like a book that says something about you and if somebody else likes the same book that right there can be the start of  beautiful question. When your young you don’t really feel it’s necessary to talk about your feelings and emotions about the world but you can attach these emotions to things you like around you. Strong character teens will most likely take up a sport like rock climbing and become friends with other rock climbers. Dancers will find it easier to communicate between themselves being that they are sensitive and artful. All you hobbies and interests are the best conversation starters with other teens.

For example, if somebody says he likes the beat generation than you know without having to go into detail that you are talking to an person enthusiastic about life and a good choice to take on a road trip with you.

But if you want to start a conversation with somebody who seems very different you can try out more of your interests or even become interested in their own passions. Adolescence is a time for learning and sharing experiences. It is also full of awkward moments and humiliating experiences but that is just part of the deal of growing up.

Other good conversation starters are courses and teachers. Once again few things can unite people and mainly teen than a common enemy. When we are in our teens we can be pretty cruel and at times forget that the others are going through mostly the same things as us. Groups form, teens take on different roles and soon enough we can see an hierarchy forming and topics, unspoken rules for discussion and interaction become just part of the system.

When groups form the best thing is to keep your independence and don’t be afraid to break some rules. With other teens you can get away with anything if you have a good sense of humor.

Kids can be quite intimidating sometimes. You’d better have a good starter to say to them when they stare at you because they don’t  have the patience to wait for you to get inspired. They will maybe  frown, maybe lower your self-esteem a little or maybe just annoy you.  Either way, if you can’t communicate with them you’re bound to charge  yourself with some negative energy. Things are not so dramatic but we  all remember a time when the clumsiness of talking to a kid left  you bummed out.

f you meet a friend with a child there’s a pressure for you to look  natural and friendly. But what if the kid frowns and puts out his tongue  in disapproval? Can you risk that? Sure you can wave your hand and  raise your shoulders as if to say that kids can me very mysterious. But  why not have something ready for them, a question or maybe even a treat.

And what if your own kid doesn’t listen to you? You can always grab a  kid’s attention with a treat but with their short span of attention you  better have something else installed to keep hold of it. Talk loudly  and try to make eye contact when you address the kid. A smile would be  best but that probably depends on the situation. Kids most likely  respond to questions closer to their own perception of reality. Ask  them about their adventures in the park and ask them about their toy  cars and barbies, maybe even give them serious advice about them. Being  serious and taking them seriously is very important because kids don’t  really like it when you talk down to them. You can joke and smile of  course but just like you would do it with a friend your age.

A classic but still a good starter can also be to ask him  about his age and his name. That way you might find some associations to  make with those details. Tell them your age too. That might be kind of  fun for them and sometimes inverting the roles of parents and kids in a  conversation can be helpful too. For example you can ask a kid where  he’s taking his parents and if it was time for their walk. That might  confuse him at first but either way your sense of humor will be  appreciated by the parents unless you’re the parent and then you can  have fun with your kid and sometimes actually let him think he’s leading  the walk.

Talking to kids can be very rewarding and relaxing. Some say it’s  just like therapy and that kids send out such positive energy. Talking  to them might just as well be a breath of fresh air amidst the tedious conversations we have during the day with the other grown-ups about daily stress or  other practical issues.

Class reunions are always something you either love or hate.  There’s really no in between. You’re either pleased with yourself and  anxious to show it or you don’t feel accomplished yet and dread any  public appearance of that sort. All in all you have to make a decision  and you shouldn’t forget that you’ve known those people for a long time  and that you probably won’t get the chance to see them again in the near  future. Set your insecurities aside and just go ahead and make a modest  appearance if that’s the case. Your presence and your attitude can do  more for you than your absence.

How can you avoid those abrupt conversation starters and  questions about your list of accomplishments so far and your family  life? “What have you been up to lately?” seems like the most harmless way in which you can approach someone. And it probably would be better for you to  be the one initiating the conversation. That way you can lead the way  and you can insert short references about your own experiences so far  and that way nobody will have to hold a speech about themselves, unless  they want to of course. Keep the dialogue going and mingle. Don’t stay  too long with just one person there otherwise it will be just like in  high school with small groups forming and closing up to others. That  does tend to happen also in reunions so if you were a member of such a  group don’t talk with just those friends it but keep it as a back-up  group.

Smile and nod and frown when necessary. An active expression shows  you’re confident and that you don’t care about others judging you. You  should also not be in a hurry to judge others. Everybody is kind of  vulnerable at class reunions. There’s also a lot of emotion involved,  nostalgia and strong friendships and the roles will not necessarily be  like in high school. The bully can now be a respectable person, the most  popular girl could now be a house-wise and the nerdiest of all could  now be a success story. Keep this in mind and always approach people  without prejudice.

Class reunions are perfect to recollect memories from high  school, to reunite with your best friends and to discuss on changes in  your life and the world around. There’s really no chance to exhaust  topics and the biggest problem with conversation starters is  probably where to start from.

The decision to attend such occasion should definitely not have your  own life as a main criteria. No matter how you feel about yourself you  shouldn’t feel ashamed and you shouldn’t refuse yourself the chance to  see old friends and satisfy your own curiosity. If you are enthusiastic  about going and can’t wait to show off your perfect life, don’t be too  self absorbed and don’t talk all evening about yourself.

What makes for a successful date? Is it making yourself look good or is it finding as much as you can about the other person? The answer probably involves both aspects but what’s the use of being found attractive by someone you can’t tell if you like that person at the end of the date? We are all narcissistic enough to enjoy being admired without any finality but the purpose of a date is to find out if it can develop into something more consistent.

The focus should then be on getting to know the other one while keeping self-aware of yourself in the whole picture. Never forget to ask the fundamental question if whether he has been in another relationship recently. The baggage a person caries from a past relationship can be decisive. Starting from that you can share both your views on relationships and also get a sense of your availability when it comes to commitment and a fresh start.

Then you can go on to ask about hobbies, passions, even work and always take your time with the subject of family. Family is a very good subject for a date as it has the power to make the people open up and maybe even become a little more emotional. Don’t go too much into detail as you should always be able to return to getting to know each other and focus on the perspective of forming a couple.

You shouldn’t be afraid to be a little romantic and whatever the subject at hand, flirt, just don’t lose focus. Make sure that the evening doesn’t before you know what he does for a living and who he shares most of his time with. In turn, let the other know about your own priorities in life and your own strengths and weaknesses.

There’s always a part of the date that should be kept for light conversation. You don’t want it to turn into a job interview. Take the time to talk about more frivolous things, like jokes, movies, favorite food and so on. This will give you the opportunity to flirt some more and become more relaxed. Furthermore, it gives you an impression about the character of the other person, the basic behavior and confidence that person has in new situations. This is also a good time to become familiar with the person’s presence and to start gaining that person’s trust.

Honesty and receptiveness are the main ingredients of a successful date, and by successful I mean only that at its end you’ll be able to know where you stand. You don’t have to be frustrated if the conclusions don’t favor an eventual relationship. You can feel good that you put yourself out there once again and hope for better luck next time. Practice makes perfect.

There are many kinds of conversation. According to the place and time, and most importantly to the people who take part in a conversation, topics can differ quite much. Everyone knows that we don’t talk about the same thing with our friends, or with our parents or with our teachers.

Even the style will differ; you might allow yourself certain words to use when you are with your colleagues, but not using those words when with your parents or family.  But however will each conversation differ from one another, you should always try to find the perfect conversation starter in every circumstance.

People who can interact easily with others and don’t have a hard time finding common interesting topics are often said to be intelligent, open-minded people, who are great team-players and can adapt to almost every circumstance. Actually, being like this is not so hard. All you have to do is always pay attention to the place and the people around you take a quick scan of everything and then, once you have made your impression you’ll know what to do.

At a family dinner conversation for example, you might be a bit reserved. There is your mother and father sitting at the table, your grandparents and even your aunts and uncles maybe. So there is not quite much to talk about with them, but anyhow, sometimes you must. In these cases it is always good for you to keep a “low profile”. This means that is always best to say little than talk too much. You probably know that there are things that a teenager does that older people might find disturbing, so it’s best not to tell every little thing that you do. They have probably forgotten that once they did the exact same things. So if you are asked about what do like to do, or what your afterschool program is, try to answer generally, say that you do ordinary stuff just like everyone does. In this case you don’t get questioned further.

What happens at a family dinner to which you bring your new girlfriend or boyfriend for the very first time? It’s no use to say that there will be lots of questions asked, and lots of awkward silent pauses. You have to make up a good family dinner conversation starter to avoid an inconvenient situation.

You parents might ask certain thing about your date, like where does he live, who are his parents and what do they do, what does he want to be when he grows up; and depending on what answers they will get, the questioning goes on and on.

So if you want to “save” you partner from all these daunting questions, you can try intervening with an interesting topic.  First, you must admit that you cannot speak about the weather, when your parents are dying to find out everything about your date. So if the topic really must be about him, or your relationship, try and bring up his hobbies for example. You can say: Did you know that Jack likes surfing? So you not even save him from annoying family questions but even get him talk about what he likes, and your parents will surely love to listen.

In this case, you get a good conversation flowing, and everyone will be pleased.

When you have been in a relationship for a long period of time, you might lose you curiosity or enthusiasm in talking. You come to know each other, eventually became bored and you feel like there is nothing interesting left for you to talk about. It’s quite sad, but this happens to almost every couple. The situation is even worse, if the partners have some kind of problems within the relationship, problems that can be solved with a proper conversation, but none of the two takes the lead and tries to talk in order to solve their problems by communicating. Because most of the times that’s the only problem, the lack of communication. So we can think of two kinds of conversation starters in a relationship.

The first one is a bit easier and looser. Here the main purpose is to reach again to one another and to try making your relationship work again. Partners should understand that being together for even several years doesn’t mean that their relationship has to be boring and uninteresting. They can keep their relationship alive if they really want to; the only think is to know how to do that. And the best way for this is a good conversation starter.

So you should try to be sweet, funny and playful, and ask you partner a silly question. The important thing is that it has to be out of the ordinary. Instead of asking him about the work today, ask him if he ever wondered what would the speed of light be if it didn’t zigzag? Or why isn’t the number 11 pronounced onety one? Or what does cheese say when it gets its picture taken?

You can ask anything you can think of, the important thing is to capture his attention so as for him to respond to you. A good laugh will do you good as well. So if you see he is cooperating with you, try not to lose him and be even more creative. As long as you both sit together and chat about “useless” topics, it means that you are on right track and most importantly that you are together, and not separate at a PC desktop.

The other conversation starter in a relationship can be a bit harder. If you think you have serious issues but they can be solved, you should not give up until you have tried talking to your partner. So instead of thinking that there is nothing left to be done, and that you two are not made for each other, try to talk to him.

The first thing to keep in mind when trying this is to catch the right time and place. Pay attention to his moods, and don’t start a delicate topic when he is nervous, impatient or does not have the time for this. Eventually wait for the weekend, when you are both more relaxed and optimistic, and then you might succeed in making him listen to you.

Always try to warn him that you are about to say something that he might not want to hear, or that he might find it useless, but ask him to cope with you for the sake of your relationship.  So never start a conversation by bombing him with accusations without any warning. Also, always try to remain calm and friendly, and you’ll have a good chance of working things out.

A conversation or a dialogue mostly consists of  one person asking questions and the other one answering; and vice versa.  There is a theory according to which there are no dumb answers only dumb questions. So you might realize that it’s quite important to know how to ask questions. You will always select your questions; you know that  there are questions that cannot be asked in certain places or situations.

For example, if you go out on the first date with a lady, you should not ask for her age, or any other such questions . And this goes for the ladies as well when dating a man. At an interview for example, it you ask your future employer what does his company do, it’s quite possible that you will not get that job because the interviewer would assume that you have made some research before attending to the meeting. So if you don’t know the basics about the company, they will take it as a lack of interest from you.

However, there are situations when it is allowed to ask almost any sort of question.

Actually it’s quite funny to ask random questions to people. The only thing you should know is where and when to ask them. Let’s say you’re having a date, and you and your partner have almost finished every possible topic you could have talked about, so you’re in danger of facing that awkward silence, when you both just smile not knowing what to say or what to do.

In this case, it’s ok for you to come out with funny random questions to ask your partner. It doesn’t have to present a certain purpose or meaning. You just ask it for fun. So here are some questions that could help you passing through the phase  in which  you don’t know what to say:

The chicken or the egg: what came first?

What do you think the biggest turn off is (in a guy or girl)?

What is the funniest name you have ever heard?

If you had two things to take with you on an inhabited island, what would they be?

Have you ever had any psychic experiences?

Would you go on a trip to the Moon if you had had the chance? Why?

What is mightier: a pen or a sword? How about a pencil?

What quote don’t you agree with? Why?

What is the funniest word you can think of?

Have you ever made up a word by yourself? What was it and how did you make it up?

If you could be an animal, what would you be and why?

Would you like to be able or fly, or have paranormal powers, or have you ever dreamed of being a superhero? What powers would you have?

If you had three wishes, what would they be?

What is your favorite day of the week and which one you hate most?

So, the questions can go on forever, you only need some imagination and a a little bit of humor to have a good time even with a person you hardly even know.

It is very important to know how to start a good conversation. In life you will find yourself many times in situations when it’s quite imperative to know how to start a good conversation. Many of us are born with the special gift of being able to easily talk to anybody, but some of us are shyer. The good news is that starting a good conversation can be learned. All you have to do is take a little time and think of a few good conversation starters and then, have the courage to apply them.

You should know that many of one’s successes or failures in life are strongly linked to one’s conversational skills. Building a relation, having a family, making a career, everything has to do with being able to interact with people.

Good communication skills will provide you with self-confidence, and you will be seen as an intelligent, open-minded person. Don’t take this the wrong way, this doesn’t mean that people who have some hard time communicating with other people are less intelligent. The only problem is that, being shy can really hold you back.

The good news is that you can actually learn how to start a good conversation. The first thing to keep in mind when you want to start a good conversation is to be interesting to others. This means that you have to be informed on current events, and keep yourself up-to-dated with everything that happens and worth mentioning. Having something interesting to say will always draw attention.

Another thing you can do is to fight back your fears and uncertainties, if you have any. When going to a meeting, instead of thinking of how uncomfortable will you feel, think about what topics you want to discuss and how you can’t wait to tell everyone what’s your opinion about it. In this case you can show up more relaxed, and there is no better proof of self-confidence than a relaxed attitude. Everybody will just love being around you.

You can also consider an interesting or funny question as a good conversation starter. Don’t be afraid to ask. Most people better say nothing than to ask a question. They fear that they might ask something stupid, and therefore better remain silent. But having nothing to say or to ask will not do you any good either. So be curious, intelligent and ask questions. Question is like to raise a topic and instantly get everyone involved.

A very important thing is to know how to listen when starting a conversation. Many people don’t know how to listen. They can’t even wait for their partner to stop talking (if not talking over them), and then they start speaking and forget to stop. Not to mention that they didn’t get anything of what the other one was saying. So this can’t be a dialogue anymore.

So take your time and listen to what the other one has to say. Look him in the eyes when he’s talking to you; nod your head as an approval of what he’s saying. Beware of the nonverbal signs you send.  You can pretend that you are listening if your eyes and body language say otherwise.

The important thing is to be yourself, don’t be scared and let your intelligence guide you for an excellent conversation.