Unit 3: THE BOLD AND THE BASHFUL Style: Starting a Conversation and Keeping It Going There are social skills that people can learn in order to help them cope with feelings of shyness in social situations. An important first step is learning how to start and maintain a conversation.   Breaking the Ice Introduce yourself Comment on something shared Weather Shared situation Noncontroversial news Examples "Hi, how are you?" "Hello, I'm Philip Zimbardo." "Nice weather, don't you think?" "Have you ever been here before?" "What a game last night, huh?" Maintaining a Conversation Ask open-ended and follow-up questions Volunteer information Listen actively and look interested Change the topic if the conversation is dying, or excuse yourself "What brings you to Palo Alto?" "What kind of work do you do?" "I run a shyness clinic here in the city." "Really?" "You're kidding!" "On another topic, did you see . . . ?" "Excuse me. I'd like to get a drink."