Conversations and Small Talk - Showing Interest

To Show Interest in a Conversation: Face the person. Make eye contact. Nod your head occasionally to show that you are listening. Make relevant comments and ask related questions. Stay on topic. Try not to interrupt. Smile occasionally.

When making small talk, you should listen to the other person and look interested.  This shows the other person that you care about what they have to say.  When you listen and show interest, the other person will be more likely to want to talk with you again in the future.

Here are ways to look interested and show that you are listening:

• Face the person who is talking.

• Make eye contact.
  
  

  Eye contact should last for at least 5 seconds.  Don’t make continuous eye contact - this would be considered staring.  If you are not comfortable looking someone in the eye, look at the interviewer’s face or mouth periodically.

• Shake or nod your head a few times as the other person is talking (as if to say “yes,” or “I understand”).
  
  
• Comment on what the other person is saying.
  
  You could say:
  
  
  • "Really?"
  • "Wow!"
  • "That’s cool."

Or you could make a specific comment about what they said.

• Ask related questions.
  
  

  Asking questions not only shows you’re interested, but it keeps the conversation going.
  

• Stay on the same topic as the person you are talking to. 
  
  Changing the subject can suggest that you really aren’t that interested in what the person was talking about.
  
  
• Try not to interrupt the other person.
  
  

  Wait until the person is finished talking, or there is a pause in the conservation before you start talking.  Interrupting is considered rude because it means you’re not listening to everything the person has to say.

• Smile occasionally.
  
  When the person who is talking smiles, smile back.  When someone else is smiling, that is often a cue that it is appropriate for you to smile as well. 

Think you know how to show interest in a conversation?
Watch the Videos and quiz yourself here.