What happens when we become too dependent on our mobile phones? According to MIT sociologist Sherry Turkle, author of the new book Reclaiming Conversation, we lose our ability to have deeper, more ...

You know the feeling. You’re at a party, doing your best to chat up the room, when suddenly the conversation falls off a cliff. You’ve asked all the small-talk staples: what they do, where they’re ...

There was once a time when strangers talked to one another, sometimes eagerly. “In past eras, daily life made it necessary for individuals to engage with others different from themselves,” Paula ...

Conversation is a lot like art. It is one of those uniquely human experiences that distills so much complexity and exhibits such infinite variety that it verges on the indefinable. Unlike art, however ...

That awkward silence. We’ve all been there. Maybe it’s when you’re meeting someone for the first time. On a date, even. Or in a job interview. Have you ever felt afraid that you would run out of ...

You can be the most outgoing person in the world and there can still be times when starting a conversation with someone new feels overwhelming. What do you say at a networking event or on a first date ...

Striking up a conversation—especially with a stranger—is a lot like adding kindling to a fire pit and hoping it ignites. Choose the wrong starter, and the flame will fizzle out. But when you get it ...