What to say in a conversation!

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I am so clueless as how to socialise. I have gone through school so far by nodding and laughing when others laugh. Or making a sympathetic face when others do. I can cope ok in a group of a few people as i can get away with contributing very little, but what are you supposed to talk about when there is only you and one other person?? I just get so nervous that i nearly forget my name!! What do teens talk about these days?? I don't understand how "bbm" (whatever that is:s) functions as both a noun and a verb!! ! How can you BBM someone, and go on BBM. It doesn't make any sense!! Any ideas will be greatly appreciated!

Confuddlement

BBM-BlackBerry Messenger

BBM is an alternative to texting available on blackberry phones. It's a hybrid between AIM, Texting and E-mail.

Of course, fewer and fewer people now use Blackberries so I"m surprised it's still popular.

As for what people talk about; just listen to other people talk.

Its really popular at the moment here with young people. Ok thanks! When i ask people they use a lot of confusing words, but thats actually ok to understand! :L

I find conversing over text messages/bbm much easier than in real life. You have a few minutes to think about what's being sad and what your saying.

see i find that too, but then when people don't reply i worry that i have offended them or something and get really anxious.

My take:

There is no single conversation topic that work with every person, in every situation. The solution is to pay attention to the topics that people are interested in.

If the topic is something like sports (just an example), you can research them, so that you can contribute next time.

If you're 1 on 1 and don't know much about that person's "favorite topic", ask them about it. Show curiosity about what they like. Doing this can make them feel important, and give them positive associations with you.

Being one on one takes more effort than being in i group, I agree. I used to have a hard time with this, and heres what I learned to do in these situations.

Ask the other person about his/her life. Like, "so what are you doing this weekend" or something like that. People generally like to talk about themselves, not to say everyone is selfcentrered, but its what they know so its easy to talk about. It can be a great conversationsstarter, remember they will probably ask you back.

Also keep in mind that if the other person asks you a question, its polite to ask it back. Not with all questions ofc, but if they ask you something like hows school going, you are supposed to ask them back after responding. (Maybe its just me who sometimes forgets that)

Possible conversationtopics, new movies (always works, everyone loves movies:)), gossip (I find it incredibly boring to talk about this, but if im desperate I can bring it up "did you hear whatsherface and thatrandomguy is dating?"), plans for the summer, music, recent events.

Remember its not all up to you to keep the conversation going, so relax. Its a two way street. Dont feel bad if it gets quiet and a bit awkward, it happens to everyone. Including NT's.