Whether people celebrate Christmas in the true Christian sense or not, the end of year holiday season is traditionally a time when families and friends get together. The emphasis is very much on reunions – people travel from far and wide, spare rooms are made up and more people are squashed around the dining room table.

Hollywood plays its part, portraying Christmas as the harmonious coming together of friends and family, the giving and receiving of wonderful gifts and the sharing of fabulous meals around the table. But the reality of Christmas for so many people is not like the movies at all. Christmas is fraught with tension, stress and depression for many.

Whether you are at a formal function or an informal gathering you will be called upon to make conversation with others. Mastering this skill - either one-on-one or conversations in small groups - is thus an important life skill as it will give you the confidence you need to handle both business and social events.

This practical course covers the fundamentals of conversation such as how to start a conversation with someone you don’t know; effective introductions to ease the way for others; how to be interesting rather than boring and how to include everyone in the conversation. We also touch on non-verbal (body) language.

Learning how to converse well and easily with others gives people more confidence when handling both business and social events. Mastering this skill - either one-on-one or conversations in small groups - is thus an important life skill.

In this talk, I cover the fundamentals of what it really means to be a good conversationalist, how to make effective introductions in order to ease the way for others, and (for emergencies) how to escape from the boring individual who insists on dominating your attention. We also touch on non-verbal (body) language.