All the things that have been said so
far are about how you can create a favorable impression. There is something
that is equally or even more important than that, and that is to make the other
person feel comfortable. Help the other person relax.
Any way you have been chatting for quite some
time so you do know a great deal about each other. The best thing you can do is
to ease the tension and break the ice. Sometimes the ice gets so thick that you
can literally feel it. Break it up by cracking a joke or two.
But the joke should be spontaneous and
in keeping with the situation or else it will fall flat. Do not rehearse a joke
because a rehearsed joke sounds…well…rehearsed.
The key word here is charm. Use all the
charm that you can muster. Try to be as considerate and as thoughtful as
possible. Do not dominate the conversation but try to get the other person
talking. People generally love to talk about themselves so try to get the other
person talking by asking about the person’s work. Show interest in whatever the
other person says.
Try to be a good conversationalist. A
good conversationalist is not a person who talks well, but is one who listens
well as well. So try to be a good listener. And while you are listening try not
to get distracted by something else or the other person might feel that you are
losing interest in what he or she is saying.
Then comes the question, “what do you do
if you find that the other person is dominating the conversation?”