ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the skills involved in starting and ending a conversation. Beginnings and endings are equally important parameters within which a conversation takes place, in that they are ‘structured, formalised sequences during which interactors have a greater opportunity to make important points or create an effective impact on others’. The first golden rule for starting a conversation is to be, or at least appear, friendly. The goal is not to impress someone with a conversation starter, but it is to show that we are a relaxed and sociable person who wants to have an enjoyable chat. We should also try to assume a rapport with the other person. Ending a conversation in many ways is a complementary skill to opening a conversation in that there is a sequence of actions or rituals that we go through. A factual closure is used when the conversation has included a number of facts or ideas or problems.
