Tough chats are manageable if you have clear steps to take. Experts share tools that they have used in their own lives.

"The most social place to meet someone at a cocktail party is at the bar! People often separate from larger groups to go get cocktails and it makes conversation easier to start because you’re suddenly ...

Sometimes the most important skill is "knowing when not to say the thing you're about to say" and pivoting, says negotiation ...

Early in my magazine career, I landed an interview with a relatively famous celebrity (who I will not name for reasons that will become obvious). I was desperate to make a good impression, so while ...

You know the feeling. You’re at a party, doing your best to chat up the room, when suddenly the conversation falls off a cliff. You’ve asked all the small-talk staples: what they do, where they’re ...

What happens when we become too dependent on our mobile phones? According to MIT sociologist Sherry Turkle, author of the new book Reclaiming Conversation, we lose our ability to have deeper, more ...

There was once a time when strangers talked to one another, sometimes eagerly. “In past eras, daily life made it necessary for individuals to engage with others different from themselves,” Paula ...

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 ...

That awkward silence. We’ve all been there. Maybe it’s when you’re meeting someone for the first time. On a date, even. Or in a job interview. Have you ever felt afraid that you would run out of ...

“Josh, I think we are better off as friends. THX for the Bolts tix tho. — Rachel.” Who hasn’t gotten — or given — the “Let’s be friends” talk? Rachel, however, didn’t talk to Josh. Instead, she had ...