How to Make a Conversation Interesting: 8 Actionable Tips

Summary:

Being an interesting conversationalist is useful in personal relationships and professional situations like sales calls. The best conversationalists are goal-oriented but flexible enough to let things unfold organically. Start by having a specific goal, practice active listening to find common ground, and ask open ended questions to engage the other person. If you have conversations for a living, technology can also help improve your skills by allowing you to take more accurate notes or follow-up during future discussions.

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Even the best talkers run out of steam every now and again. This is especially true in sales, where being an adept conversationalist is often tied directly to your success.

Fortunately, mastering the art of conversation is a skill you can hone with practice, even during everyday encounters. Whether it's a casual chat with a customer support agent or a deeper discussion with a friend, every conversation is an opportunity to sharpen your skills.

We’ve rounded up some actionable tips on how to make a conversation interesting to help get you started. Use these tips to improve the quality of your sales calls and the conversations you have in your daily life.

How PhoneBurner Improves Conversation Quality

The tips below will help you in any conversation. But if you’re looking for tools that make a measurable difference on your sales calls, PhoneBurner can help.

We designed our platform to help reps have more high-quality conversations with prospects. Here are some of the features that help most:

• A power dialer with absolutely no telemarketer delay
• Built-in CRM for keeping detailed lead information, plus one-touch voicemail and SMS
• Self-updating call lists with custom filters to help you organize workflows

That’s just a taste. PhoneBurner is loaded with features that help you learn more about your leads and reach them seamlessly so you can have more meaningful interactions. Start your free trial today to give your phone calls an instant boost.

Understanding the Art of Conversation

Conversations are not just exchanges of information; they're dynamic and multi-dimensional. Great conversationalists understand this and navigate through various topics effortlessly, creating rich and engaging experiences.

Before you try the tips we’ve listed below, remember the following:

Conversations aren’t linear; they can lead anywhere. You’ll need to be comfortable letting things unfold organically, even if things don’t seem to be going exactly the way you imagined.

It’s important to enter conversations (especially sales calls) with a goal in mind—but you also need to stay flexible.

Conversations have multiple threads, any of which can be a viable road to the destination you want. If you try to remain linear and force a sales pitch instead of having an authentic, interesting conversation, you may lose your lead.

This is something Jason Bay, Chief Prospecting Officer at Blissful Prospecting, discusses at length in our eBook, Outbound Sales: 10 Strategies to Close More Deals. Download a free copy today to learn more.

10 Ways to Make a Conversation More Interesting

Like any art, the art of conversation can take time to master. Some of your success is related to learning effective communication techniques or optimizing your outbound based on the sales metrics you’re tracking, but there’s a lot here that depends on real-world application and practice.

You have to learn to be a good conversation partner who’s relatable, trustworthy, and interesting. Here are eight easy tips you can start using now to make yourself a stronger conversation partner:

1. Put the Focus on the Other Person

Lots of people think talking more makes them a better conversationalist. In reality, this can suck the air out of the room. Instead, you want to make the other person feel like the star of the show.

People like talking about themselves. When you give others an opportunity to open up, you might be surprised at just how much they decide to share. And the more they talk, the more connected they’ll feel to you.

This doesn’t mean you should stay quiet the whole time. That would have the opposite effect and make the conversation stale. Here are some tips for striking the right balance:

• Drop in every now and again with small anecdotes of your own that build off what the other person is talking about.
• Ask probing questions to encourage them to go deeper into certain topics.
• Remember that you’re in control of the conversation here. You know where you want it to ultimately lead, so make sure to subtly nudge it in the right direction as they keep talking.
• Remain genuinely interested and curious about what they have to say. People can smell when you’re being patronizing or inauthentic a mile away.

One axiom that I always enjoy keeping in the front of my mind is this: “Every day is a school day.” If you treat your conversations with that mindset and seek to learn something new, you’ll always be genuinely interested.

2. Find Points of Commonality & Connection

This may sound simple, but it’s often easy to overlook this during conversations, especially if they’re moving fast. Undoubtedly, there will be points of common interest that naturally surface during the conversation. When they do, take the opportunity to connect over them. Here’s an example:

Say you’re on a call with a prospect trying to give them an overview of your dialing software (hey, that’s what PhoneBurner does!).

Along the way, they mention how much they dislike doing admin work in their CRM, and so do you.

Talk about that. Dig in deep. Explore what they don’t like about it. Relay some of your least favorite things as well. Laugh a little about both of your bad experiences.

You’ve just found common ground that’s brought you two closer together. And when the conversation comes to the point of scheduling the demo, you’re that much more connected.

3. Watch Late-Night Talk Shows

Late-night talk show hosts are some of the best conversationalists. In fact, they get paid for their ability to have interesting conversations night in and night out.

Naturally, talk-show hosts ask a lot of questions, mix in humor, and keep the conversation mostly focused on the other person during the interaction. Watch the mannerisms of both the host and the person they’re talking with, then ask yourself the following questions:

• How are they using the tonality of their voice?
• Do they use specific body language to help communicate?
• What are they doing to connect with each other?

To put it another way, tonight’s homework: watch TV. And if you want a good laugh or some fodder for conversational humor, check out these hilarious sales memes.

4. Talk Slowly & Enunciate

Speaking fast isn’t always a bad thing, but it can be confusing for the person you’re speaking with. If you’re not present in your conversations, and you really know your stuff, you may speak so fast that the other person’s head spins.

Try to purposefully slow your cadence down to the point where it feels almost too slow for you. I promise you won’t be talking too slow if you do. It only feels that way. This is something you can practice by recording yourself or asking a friend to listen to you and give feedback.

The second major point is to enunciate your words. Get your mouth muscles used to pronouncing complex words with vocal warmups like:

• Red leather, yellow leather (three times in a row)
• You know New York, you need New York, you know you need unique New York
• Betty Botter bought a bit of bitter butter, but the bit of butter was too bitter for the batter, so Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter

That last one is crazy, right? Oh, Betty.

All this will help you talk clearly, calmly, and confidently. That’s what people want to hear and it’ll draw them more into the conversation.

5. Practice Your Active Listening Skills

You can ask the best questions in the world, talk confidently, and draw someone into a conversation. But if you don’t actually pay attention to what they’re saying, you’ll fall flat on your face.

Remember: you want to be genuine and authentic in your conversations. How can you do that if you aren’t truly listening?

There’s nothing worse than zoning out and realizing the other person has stopped talking and is staring at you waiting for a response. If you’re in sales, this could tank a deal faster than you can say, “I’m sorry!”. And your sales metrics will tank right along with it.

Draw your focus into the conversation and listen to what the other person is saying. If it helps, take notes while they talk. Do whatever you need to do in order to stay “in” the conversation with the other person.

Related: Forget Scripts: How to Increase Sales Through Active Listening

6. Try Asking Personal Questions

Small talk can be frustrating and annoying if it’s too generic. Take the opportunity when the timing feels right to ask useful information about the person you’re speaking with by asking questions about them. Focus on them by including the word “you” in your questions.

For example, you might ask:

• Where are you located?
• Any favorite AI tools you're using right now?
• How long have you been in your role/career field?

Asking for someone’s opinion is also a fun and engaging way to make a conversation more interesting. Do they have a favorite tech platform they use? How do they like to manage their work schedules? Have they read any great business books recently?

Questions like this can also be extremely helpful after you’ve already booked an initial meeting off a cold call. It can lay the groundwork for long-term rapport and show the prospect that you’re legitimately interested in learning about them.

7. Ask Open-Ended Questions

There are two main types of questions:

• Short-answer questions, like yes/no questions and those that require only one or two words.
• Open-ended questions, which require an explanation and don’t have a simple answer.

Short-answer questions are good for determining the direction of the conversation and figuring out what the other person wants. But open-ended questions typically make for much more interesting conversations.

For example, a typical sales conversation could go like this:

You: So, you want to make more sales?

Them: No, we’re happy with our sales process.

You: OK, so what are you looking to improve?

Them: We want to spend less on lead acquisition.

With those few short-answer questions, you know what they’re looking for. But now you need to dive deeper and figure out why. And using the right questions will do just that. For instance:

• Why do you think you need to drop your lead acquisition costs?
• How do you think you can do that?
• What do you think is causing the waste? How come?

These open-ended questions allow you to better understand your prospects, build rapport, and move more deals forward.

Related: Are You Asking Enough Rapport Building Questions on Your Sales Calls?

8. Handle Controversial Topics Delicately

Typically, there are three things people don’t like to talk about: personal finance, politics, and religion. However, there will always be one person who wants to dive into these areas and ask for your thoughts.

In some business conversations, it might be impossible to stray from things like finance and politics even. Regardless, if someone brings a controversial subject up, or they talk about something that makes you uncomfortable, be ready to pivot the conversation.

You can jump into the conversation and attempt to steer it back to your initial purpose for talking, or you can keep a few quick phrases ready to help everyone move past it. For example, you could say: “I respect your views there, thank you for sharing! But I’d like to keep us on track because we only have a limited amount of time to chat today.”

Remember, especially on sales calls, people are there to do business. Don’t be afraid to remind them of that North Star.

9. Don’t Forget Non-Verbal Communication

Good communication skills require good non-verbal communication, even when you’re selling over the phone. Although they won’t see the cues you send, they’ll notice the differences in your voice's tone, timbre, volume, and energy.

There are three major components of non-verbal communication that you should focus on:

• Smiling while talking. Even if you’re on the phone and can’t be seen, this actually changes your voice. You sound brighter and more cheerful, which lets the other person know that you’re enjoying the conversation and keeps them engaged.
• Body language. Stand up straight with your shoulders slightly back. It makes you feel more confident and opens up your chest for rich vocal tones.
• Eye contact. This won’t matter on the phone, but in person, it’s a must. It shows that you’re actually listening and that you have nothing to hide. It helps build the relationship and breeds trust quickly.

The best way to get better with your non-verbal communication is to focus on one aspect at a time and to use it in every conversation you have. Before you talk to someone, remind yourself to smile frequently. When a conversation ends, consider what your body language was like.

Once you make good non-verbal communication a habit, you’ll notice a big improvement in all your social situations, including sales conversations.

10. Tell Stories

Stories make conversations come alive. They hook people and keep them engaged.

Our brains aren’t good at remembering facts, but they’re excellent at remembering stories. And when you tell a good story about the results a past customer achieved by using your services, they won’t be able to forget it.

If you want to improve your sales numbers, include stories in your sales pitches so potential clients can visualize what you do for people. Once they can see how much you help, they’ll be excited to sign the contract with you.

Conversation Starters to Use

As you’re learning new ways to make a conversation more interesting, the following conversation starters might be able to help. Sometimes a good conversation topic sprouts from seemingly small and simple questions.

Here are a few quick questions you can fire off at the beginning of a conversation in order to get the ball rolling. Similarly, if conversation stalls you can use these to potentially reignite the chatter:

• Tell me about yourself and your career path.
• How is [NAME] doing today?
• Are you working on anything exciting right now?
• What’s your passion project at work?
• What was the highlight of your day, week, or month?
• What’s the best thing about working where you work?

What’s great about these interesting conversation starters is that you can align them with the initial purpose of your conversation. For B2B sales professionals, all of these can be used to push someone toward a conversation about their pain points, what their biggest priorities are, or if they need to buy new products or services.

Keep Learning New Ways to Make a Conversation Interesting

The more you practice, the better your conversation skills will become. That can drastically help improve your ability to snare someone’s attention on a cold call, nail your demo presentation, and maintain lasting relationships with a prospect that leads to a signed deal.

Before you know it, you’ll be showing younger sales reps who join your team how they can make a conversation interesting themselves. And remember: the right tools are just as important as the right strategies. Try PhoneBurner for free and see how it can make it easier to make your conversation skills work for you on sales calls.

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