Today in this episode, let's look at some bad strategies and attitudes that don't quite work in a conversation.

I mean, like having awkward conversations.

Next, you'll practice your fluency with a mini-story lesson, the best way to learn to speak English without translating

mentally. All right. Have you ever been with someone and not know what to talk about?

It's happened to me sometimes. Every once in a while, we run into situations where it's difficult to continue the conversation.

One example is what happens in an elevator.

Imagine that you meet a neighbor you hardly know, and a typical dialogue ends up going like this.

Good morning. Good morning. Going down? Yes.

It's cold today, isn't it? Yes, yes. It's going to be like this all week, they say.

As you can see, this conversation is not very intellectual. It's more about avoiding silence, which can be

uncomfortable. This doesn't just happen in elevators, but in all kinds of social interactions.

I read recently that a silence of four seconds or more triggers anxiety. It doesn't get any better when you have to speak in a language you're

learning. You have even fewer resources to express yourself. Today we're going to see which

topics or strategies don't work well in conversations, especially with strangers. The goal, I think, is to have

someone interesting conversation. Come on, let's move on to the first one. Talking about the weather.

Talking about the weather is not a bad thing, but if we only talk about it or any other obvious

things, we're not going to make a good impression.

Now I can think of a couple of situations where talking about the weather is an awful strategy.

For example, on a first date, talking for 45 minutes about whether it's raining or hot

or cold or windy isn't going to make you more attractive. Or at a job interview. Let's see.

You don't know what to say. Better not start commenting that it's a cold and foggy morning.

However, there are also exceptions. If you have a date with someone who works in meteorology

...