I've never been eloquent in public, rather I'm that person that fantasizes about rich and well flowing conversations in my head when I'm alone.

Unfortunately, the reason I fantasize about it is because it rarely happens for me. It depends on who I'm talking to, but more often than not my conversations are filled with painful droughts of silent and meager small talk. It's hard for me to connect with people because it is extremely difficult for me to open up and I get anxiety in social situations which causes my mind to blank.

If any of this happens to you or you are stuck in a conversation with someone you hardly know or have no interest in, here is what I've learned on how to better manage your conversations.

1. Ironically, for an introvert, I enjoy small talk because at least there's some sound in the air unlike those tragically common awkward silences and small talk is easily rehearsed and I know what to say. "How are you?, How was your break?" What I mean about easily rehearsed is that it's repeated often, you know the questions that are coming, and you know the answers since the questions are usually very easy.

2. "How?" is my favorite question. It opens them up about their experiences and gets them talking. It's an easy question and you get enough information so that you can ask them questions about it and then improvise according to your interest.

3. Common, easy, thought provoking questions: if there's ever a list in any question, ask if they have a favorite and from there ask why, what your personal favorite would preferably be.

4. Know the person. Most people's personalities are similar and you can get a feel for how a conversation will go if you can decode their personality and anticipate what type of answers they have or things they will talk about.

5. Conversations that everyone will talk about: politics, sports, entertainment, gossip about co-workers and celebrities (sadly, it makes for an enticing conversation), and the news. What I do is try to know a little bit about every topic so that I have something to talk about no matter the person. Everyone has interests, and once you figure that out, you can use that to your advantage.

6. Different topics will trigger different reactions. If you see a fervent reaction to a certain topic, go in that direction and continue to talk about that. Strong emotions are a good sign; it means they are getting something out of that conversation.

7. If you have found a talkative person; you've just got out of jail free! Talkative people are so easy to talk to because you don't have to talk. Just nod and smile, while thinking about what you really want to think about. Everyone can be a talkative person if you just trigger one of their interests.

I know this article probably makes me sound near sociopathic and very antisocial, but rest assured I am not! Conversations with certain people are just difficult for me and I've had to break it down to sort of a science in order to make conversation less emotionally painful and flow better. I thought that I couldn't be the only person like this so I wrote this to help people similar to me.

What's strange is that this is what I have learned from most of my conversations but nobody has ever mentioned that conversations with me are one sided and interview-like. Maybe they're too polite. One downside to theses tactics is that unless you meet people like you with common interests and that you genuinely connect with, you most likely won't get to know them. These tactics are mostly for getting through a conversation and sparing yourself from the awkward self-roast when you are alone again about how awkward and boring you are. Most of all, practice conversation because it can be learned. Find the pattern in it and it will be much easier. Conversations are like a formula (forgive me); you just plug different people in and try to come out with a nice number. Different personalities will clash and you will have negative times, but everything will work out. If all else fails, everyone has an opinion on Trump.

Good luck to everyone like me during these social interaction heavy Holiday times!