Any date can be saved with interesting conversation starters. Sure, you can rely on your date to direct the flow of conversation, but then you’re leaving the outcome of the meeting up to them. Most people feel more comfortable when they’re in control – or at least able to take control if need be. But before we get to some simple suggestions for interesting topics to start your conversations rolling, we should point out some things that we hope are obvious.

If you talk too much on a date, you risk looking self-absorbed. Speak too little and you risk appearing boring! The perfect mix over the course of any date is a 50/50 split on the amount of chatting done by you and your friend. This way you get to know each other equally well.

"What’s more important than how interesting your topic of conversation is will be how to bump it along."

Now conversation isn’t everyone’s strong suit. It takes a quick mind and some direction to steer it towards places where it will flow easily. A good conversationalist will play a date like a piano, popping away at the keys until a perfect harmony is reached. You can get the ball rolling by asking open ended questions such as those that begin with how, what and why.

Another good idea is to be well read. I can see some of you looking at me now as if I have two heads. True, you can’t pick up this habit in a day or two, but you really don’t need to. Spend a half hour flipping through online news sites or the paper and look for topics that interest you. Keep some of the points in your head for later. You might be surprised how handy they can be!

If you find yourself stuck with a lull in conversation during a date, take a deep breath, relax, smile and try using some of the following open-ended questions.

~What was it like growing up in (insert name of place here)?

~How did you get into (insert field of work or study here)?

~What is your favorite part of the day and why?

~What area of the world would you like to live in?

~What do you think of sports?

~If you won a million dollars in the lottery, how would you spend it?

~What places have you visited?

~How do you like to spend your weekends?

~What are some of your favorite movies?

~How do you feel about pets?

~Where do you see yourself in five years?

~If stranded on a deserted island, what food would you have to have with you?

~If you could domesticate any wild animal, what would it be and why?

Now any one of these examples could easily be fifteen minutes of conversation. What’s more important than how interesting your topic of conversation is will be how you bump it along. One question should lead to at least five more. If you ask someone what places they’ve visited, you need to follow up with other questions such as when they were there, what did they do, what places did they see, who did they go with and would they go back. Now if they happen to be good conversationalists, they’ll throw these questions back at you. Suddenly five simple broad-based questions will lead to 20 extra follow-up questions and pretty soon two hours will have flown by and you’ll know a lot more about the person you came with. Great ideas for conversation starters are everywhere. You just need to know where to start and how to keep the ball rolling once it’s in motion!