Provide ‘hooks’ for the conversation to flow more easily. Hooks are questions or statements that invite the other person into a richer conversation.

In a conversation, answer questions with full sentences that give at least a few hooks for the possible continuation of the conversation. For example, to the question “What did you do last summer?”, you can offer several hooks. “I went to Spain and took a photography class there.” Now they can pick up the conversation in one of several directions: travel, Spain, photography, taking classes, etc.

Even if the question is more close-ended, you can still provide hooks. “What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?” “I like trying out unique flavors. Recently, I had ABC flavor. It was almost as good as the DEF I had in Rome.” This leaves lots of hooks – each of the flavors, idea of trying new flavors, Rome, etc.