As humans, we’re talking to each other constantly. With all that practice, we must be pretty good at it—right? Not exactly. As a professor at Harvard Business School and author of Talk: The Science of ...

Striking up a conversation—especially with a stranger—is a lot like adding kindling to a fire pit and hoping it ignites. Choose the wrong starter, and the flame will fizzle out. But when you get it ...

You can be the most outgoing person in the world and there can still be times when starting a conversation with someone new feels overwhelming. What do you say at a networking event or on a first date ...

You know the scenario: you get yourself to a networking event, put your name tag on, get a drink, and then have no idea where to start. You might think feeling tongue-tied is only a problem early in ...

Many people think they know what they are looking for in a first date, and sometimes they are right. Sure, attractiveness is important, especially at the beginning of a relationship. That is why both ...

There’s never a reason to run out of conversation topics. The news, the weather and whatever other people are doing could be talked about at length, in most scenarios. Those topics, however, are dull.

Studies show that reminiscing about the past with young kids helps their social-emotional development as they get older. When ...

If you’ve ever spoken to someone and later felt that you would have better spent your time talking to a brick wall, you’ll surely identify with the observations of Rebecca West. “There is no such ...