Why conversations die

Compare two answers to "how was your weekend?" First: "Fine, we went to the dacha" (a summer cabin outside the city, a big Russian tradition). Second: "We went to the dacha, and for the first time in my life I lit the wood stove myself. Half the house filled with smoke, but I'm proud." The first one is smooth: all you can say back is "cool." The second has three handles: the stove, the smoke and the pride. You can grab any of them.

Everyday rule: one unrequested detail in every answer. Someone asks where you work? Name the place and add something you like or can't stand about it.

Technique 1. A question that keeps going

Some questions change the subject, and some continue what was said. The second kind is stronger: it shows you were listening. Someone tells you they went hiking. "Where else have you been?" pulls sideways. "What was the hardest part?" digs deeper. In speed-dating studies, people who asked more follow-up questions were more likely to get a second date.