Good conversation starters

[froghat]

What are some questions you can ask to spark a conversation with someone? The only one I can think of is "So, do you follow baseball?" or something to do with sports. What are some good ones for guys and especially ladies? Is it ok to ask "So, what do you do outside of work?' Give me some suggestions! I start a new job soon and I wanna be prepared so I can meet some people.

 

[ripewithdecay]

Sometimes if someone at work is clearly from another country i'll ask "So where ya from?"
Or i'll just ask "How long you been here?"

I find it difficult to start real conversations... more like small talk, which is exactly that - short and brief.
If you don't hit someone at work with small talk but you see them everyday it just gets harder and harder to deal with the tension.
So try to break the ice with small talk first, then you can try out some conversational openers.

One thing i notice is that it's just as hard for some ppl without SA to approach newcomers with small talk, so give yourself a pat on the back if you can initiate it first.

 

[playthepsychedelic]

Making fun of things or gossiping is really the best way to start a conversation rather than asking basic stuff like "hey, did you see '''''' yesterday on television or "where do you live?". Ask how his/her day was or what his/her plans for the weekend are. If you have something interesting or fascinating coming up, or something weird/cool happened to you that day tell him/her.