How To Be Likeable When Talking About Yourself
As we have pointed out several times before, during a conversation it is very important to be a good listener and to show real interest in what your girlfriend/date has to say. However, there will come a time when you’ll need to engage in talking about yourself. How you do this may be a deal-breaker or an asset.
Talking About Yourself Shouldn’t Involve These Things
Very frequently, people are under the mistaken impression that talking about themselves should be about blowing their own trumpet. This is why they think it’s a good idea to describe their successful careers, talk about their wealth or how popular they are among friends. However, bragging may make some people admire you at first, but it soon turns into either boredom or jealousy or – even worse – both.
Monopolizing conversations with your news and/or achievements is also bound to make you a person others will most probably not want to be around. Even though we like interesting people, those who love being the center of attention soon become tiring and create a sense of disbelief in those around them.
The Right Way To Talk About Yourself
On the other hand, if you share the experiences and pieces of information which are relevant to what your interlocutor is saying, it will make you much more interesting. Another thing to keep in mind is that being vulnerable and honest about your past errors or negative experiences will most probably also make you a lot more likable than boasting about your successes would. That’s because we tend to be much more relatable when we open up to others, and they take a greater liking to us when we put down our guards.
That, of course, is not to say that one should whine and lament endlessly. On the contrary, even when we talk about our negative experiences it should be from a positive angle; the angle of someone who’s learned from his error, rather than someone who’s bitter. This outlook on things will make us seem a lot more savvy and wise and it can make others empathize with us and even seek our advice.
In conclusion, when talking about yourself you should let others draw their own conclusions about you rather than trying to force-feed them some kind of admiration for you by bragging non-stop. Be open, be vulnerable, positive, relatable, and to-the-point, and you are bound to make people around you take a liking to you instantly.