A simple way to take your relationships up a notch (or five)

Five to one: According to one of the most prominent social scientists in the field of romantic relationships, John Gottman, that’s the ratio of positive to negative interactions in stable relationships. Couples were significantly less likely to get a divorce when they had about five positive interactions for every negative interaction they had.

Ashley KirsnerJuly 20, 2017Skip the Small Talk, how to skip the small talk, relationship, relationships, relationship advice, romantic relationship, romantic relationships, boyfriend, girlfriend, romance, how to keep the spark alive, how to have long-lasting relationships, better relationships, deeper relationships, relationship health, the secret to long-lasting relationships, healthy relationships, healthy relationship, managing relationships, how to make your relationships healthy, how to keep your relationships, how to make your relationships last, how to make your relationships last forever, how to make my relationship last, long-lasting relationships, relationship risks, gratitude, how to keep your boyfriend, how to keep your girlfriend, how to keep your friends, how to keep your significant other, how to keep your wife, how to keep your husband, John Gottman, relationship science, better communication, communication, communication skills, how to communicate better, how to have better conversations, positive reinforcement, positive, positive psychology, positive feedback, how to deepen your relationships, deep relationships, I love how you, happy, how to have a happy relationship, relationship ratio, magic relationship ratio, strong relationships, strong marriage, stable relationship, stable relationships, stable marriage, stable marriages, how to take your relationship up a notch, take your relationship up a notchComment

How to escape small talk in two simple steps

We’ve all been there. You’re at a party, and somebody asks you a small talk question that you’re afraid will beget more small talk and before you know it, you’re thirty minutes deep into a discussion about traffic patterns in your local area. Whether the question that somebody is asking you is, “Where are you from?” Or, “Wasn’t the traffic getting here awful?” You can prevent your conversation from slipping into a night of small talk by responding the following way:

Ashley KirsnerMay 4, 2017how to skip the small talk, learn how to skip the small talk, skip the small talk, how do i skip small talk, big talk, how to get closer to people, how to open up, how to open up to people, how to get people to open up to you, how to make friends, small talk, no small talk, how to escape small talk, escape small talk, deeper relationships, how to have better relationships, how to have better conversations, conversations, conversation, deep conversation, deep conversations, how to have deep conversations, how to have a deep conversation, how to talk about yourself, how to talk, how to be charming, be charming, how to small talk, how to do small talk, how to make small talk, how do I make small talk, networking, communicate, how to communicate, how to charm people, how to charm someone, how to respond to small talk, introverts, introvert, introversion, hate small talk, hating small talk Comments

If you have trouble skipping the small talk, this might explain why

I recently found myself in two almost identical social situations with one small difference that changed everything about the way the interaction went down.

A few months ago, I had some new friends over my house when one of my friends took advantage of a brief silence:

“Can I ask you all a weird question?”

We all nodded and leaned forward a tiny bit in our chairs.

“Is a hamburger a sandwich?”

Ashley KirsnerMarch 7, 2017hamburger, sandwich, is a hamburger a sandwich, questions, skip the small talk, skipping the small talk, buy-in, consent, awkward, awkward situations, leadership, good leadership, going deeper, how to go deeper, deep conversations, how to have deep conversations, boundary, boundaries, how to skip the small talk, STST, Skip the Small Talk, how do I skip the small talk, talk big, talk big not small, how to get people to open up, how to get closer to, how to get closer to people, how can I get closer to, hamburgers vs. sandwiches, hamburger vs. sandwich, conversations, how to have better conversations, how to get better at communicating, communication, communicating, how to improve communication, communication problems, having communication problems, how to get people talking, icebreaker, icebreakers, how to be less awkward, socially awkward, healthy relationship, healthy relationships, relationship, relationships, managing relationships, conversation starters, how not to be awkward, social awkwardnessComment

TIPS, STORIES, AND insPiration