Conversation Starters That Aren’t ‘How’s It Going?’

Inspired by "Alison Wood Brooks, a professor at Harvard Business School and the author of 'Talk: The Science of Conversation and the Art of Being Ourselves.'” Better ways to start a conversation. Free article: www.nytimes.com/2026/04/17/w...

Many of us fall back on the standard openers when starting a conversation — “What’s up?” or “How’s it going?” — but those are often a dead-end. Learn some ways to kick off a chat that might lead to a livelier exchange.