Start making things up as often as you can, as a way to ignite a conversation, especially with salespeople, receptionists, bartenders (if you have their attention), or anyone in a casual encounter.
Here’s a small example:
Earlier today, while paying my bill at the airport, I told the girl behind the counter,
“You reminded me of her.”
She looked up and asked,
“Who?”
I said,
“The crush of my college.”
Then I paused just to let that sink in, watching her reaction. She kept looking down, smiling slightly as she prepared my bill.
I continued,
“But I never confessed to her.”
She asked,
“Why?”
I smiled and said,
“I was a shy boy back then.”
She didn’t say much, so I went on,
“But now I’m not.”
This time, she looked up and smiled. We exchanged names, and then I left.
The truth? I made it all up. She never reminded me of anyone.
The more you practice making things up on the fly, the more you rewire your brain to lead a conversation naturally. This skill becomes especially valuable when the woman you’re speaking to isn’t contributing much—something that often happens in first meetings.
Initially you can start making up a simple and informational story.
Example: Imagine you’re chatting with a female pastry chef at a bakery you’re visiting. After a bit of small talk, you can playfully make up a story like this :
“I was actually this close to learning baking and making a career out of it. But back then, I wasn’t sure if it had good prospects, so I dropped the idea. Later, I realised I was wrong. And now, every time I eat something made by a pastry chef, it just doesn’t taste sweet enough , maybe because I missed my calling.”
Once you become comfortable with a basic informational story, you can transition into playful ones, and so on.
Exercise: Make up a story with a context, and post it on comments section of same post in my sub-reddit (link is below).