[center][size=90]I'm way more outgoing online than I am in real life ^^'
I've been working on being more extroverted off the Internet, so now I try to start conversations with "Hello!; How are you?; My name is A; Nice to meet you; etc." It's all superficial stuff that seems pointless, but at least it gets the conversation going. If it's a person that goes to school, then I'll ask what grade they're in and what classes they might be taking. Then we can complain for half an hour about those horrible things known as AP tests or our terrible teachers and kind of get to know each other in the meantime. There's always the good option to ask about what people do in their free time, too :3
I rarely mention anime because most people seem to have an aversion to it or just don't know what it is.
But I'm very shy, so if there's ever an awkward pause in the conversation, I will never be the one to fill it because I panic, and my mind goes blank! That's why it's more difficult to talk to adults because once I move past the "hello, I'm doing well" stage, there's not really much I can talk to them about.
I try to be careful about what I say because I'm scared that people will judge me. I don't know if they do or not :') Sometimes I think of things to say that might be funny, but I never actually say them because I'm worried I might offend someone or it might not be as funny as I actually imagine it to be.
I'm working on it...
Online, I'm really different. From asking other people's opinions of me, apparently I'm very outgoing, cheerful, and friendly, while being able to remain mature in discussions. I also have a good sense of humor??
I don't agree with many of those things but I would say that personally I notice myself being much more social on the Internet. I'm always more than willing to be the first to initiate a conversation, and, uh, if you haven't noticed already, I write a lot ;_; I'll always welcome new people into groups and I love talking to everyone [ very different from real life, where I avoid doing so if I can help it! ]. When people send me friend requests, I'll always go to greet them and talk about something that we have in common.
So generally, if it's advice you're looking for...
Start with the general polite exchanges "How are you doing today?" and then try to find something in common. I'm not sure if you refer to talking to people on MAL or in real life...
So I'd say, in real life, you can ask what somebody's job is, or maybe what grade in school they are in, or what they enjoy doing in their free time depending on how old they are. Even though talking about the weather is often deemed socially inept, it can help to start a conversation if you really can't think of anything else.
On MAL, see what anime or manga you have in common, or you know what, if you don't have anything in common or run out of things to talk to, just pick a random anime [ that might seem decently interesting to you ] and say "Hey, I noticed that you watched this anime. I was thinking about watching it, since it looks really interesting, but I'm not sure yet. Could you give me your opinion on it?" Even if you don't genuinely mean to watch that anime, at least you have something to talk about for the time being, and who knows, you might actually end up watching it and enjoying the experience! |