The Wrath of the Awkward

Awkwardness. We’ve all been there; you meet someone new, or are introduced, and suddenly all brain activity stops and you can’t, for the life of you, find something to talk about!
 
I’ve never understood why this happens to me.  I can keep a conversation going with any of my friends, but the second I meet a new person, or a good-looking gentleman, words stop forming in my mouth and all I’m left with is silence. Awkward, awkward silence. Those rare times I’m actually asked out on an out-to-dinner, out-in-pubic date, as opposed to being asked to “hang out”, I dread what I know is bound to come… The wrath of the awkward.
 
If you’ve ever been through sorority recruitment you know how awkward conversations can be. You have to try and form a connection with a girl, based upon zero previous knowledge. This, plus the pressure of the whole rush situation, can lead to some serious mind blanks, and some dead silence, where all you can do is stare and smile.  However, if you’ve been through this, hopefully you also know how to move past that and eventually keep the conversation going. I never knew I could learn a seriously valuable life lesson from something like sorority recruitment, but I did.  
 
I learned the secret to never having to go through another awkward silence again. The solution is so simple you’re about to ask yourself, “How did I ever let myself experience such awkward times?!”  So how do you do it?  So simple: YOU ASK QUESTIONS!
 
People like to talk about themselves; it’s pretty much a fact. Ask enough questions, and you can get a long conversation going, where they walk away feeling very satisfied. I mean, how can a date go wrong if the whole time your asking a guy questions like “What’s the greatest sports moment you’ve ever had?” and “How did you get to be so good at (whatever)?”
 
From then on you can ask a few questions to build upon the topic, and alas, conversation flow. If he’s a decent guy he’ll probably ask you one or two questions as well. In this case, you should answer, give a small detail about your life so he feels connected to you in some way, and retaliate with another question for him. If he asks what your favorite sports team is, respond with “I love the Giants, being from San Francisco I grew up going to games with my dad… Does your family go to a lot of sports events together?” if he says a simple “No”, don’t freak out, this is easy; “Who do you go with?” “How often do you go to sports events?”, “Have you ever caught a foul ball?” and so on, and so on.
 
This tactic works with just about anyone, not only guys. If you ever find yourself talking to an interviewer, or any other person of importance, just ask them some questions. Another thing to keep in mind is people love to have their egos boosted, especially guys! When they’re telling you their answers be sure to slip in a couple of “wow’s” and “that’s so cool/great/amazing!”  Maybe even a straightforward “I’m impressed!”  That one always seems to work for me.
 
Of course there will be situations where the person you’re dealing with is just so awkward, that no amount of questions will ease the tension. In that case, I can’t help you. That’s something they’re going to need to get over on their own. But, this will hopefully be a rare case. Assuming you encounter a regular person, just keep calm and remember this completely obvious skill set, and I can almost guarantee you will experience a lot less awkwardness in your life.