EDIT: The conversation partners program is currently on indefinite hiatus. If you are interested in this, never fear -- you might find that social skills coaching is a better fit.
Practice makes perfect.
But conversation is difficult to practice effectively. For practice to be useful, you need three things.
- You need to be consistent. You won't improve at anything if you only do it once a month.
- You need honest feedback. If you don't know what you're doing wrong, you won't know where to improve.
- You need freedom to fail. Failure is a natural part of learning -- so if you don't feel comfortable to make mistakes, you won't be able to try new things and improve.
Unfortunately, conversation doesn't lend itself well to any of these things. Finding people to converse with can be tricky -- and even if you do poorly in a conversation, people might be polite and not tell you. And of course, failing in conversation can feel crummy -- it's no fun to flub a conversation.
That's why I'm excited to offer a new feature on Improve Your Social Skills: conversation practice partners
Simply put, a practice partner is a regular person who you can practice conversation with (makes sense, right?) Your practice partner will provide a safe place for you to practice conversation, and they'll give you honest feedback and constructive criticism.
If you want to get more comfortable talking to others, this is a fantastic opportunity.
Or, if you want to practice a specific skill (like asking good questions, or telling stories), a conversation partner could help you take that skill to the next level.
Got questions? I've got answers.
