https://www.reddit.com/r/EncyclopaediaOfReddit/comments/110mxfa/lost_for_words/
created by EncyclopaediaBot on 12/02/2023 at 18:42 UTC*
6 upvotes, 0 top-level comments (showing 0)
It happens to the best of us. Small-talk, despite sounding anodyne, does not come easy to many of us. Clumsy or tactless conversation is a staple of most coming-of-age films for a reason and the number of books devoted to improving the social skills of people of all ages could sink a battleship. You need Reddit Karma, so you need to comment, but what?
A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other. With this in mind, a good tool to employ is the principle of the Five Ws and How *aka* 5W1H[1] of information gathering:
1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Ws
Let me add another tool to your box - the principle of the Five Styles of Reddit commenting:
These are pretty much given in the order you should employ them. The last two might not win you any favours in some subs so use them carefully.
2: https://www.happier.com/blog/nice-things-to-say-100-compliments/
4: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/hfi2e/most_cliche_reddit_comments/
5: https://www.reddit.com/r/CasualUK/comments/7dc49k/what_reddit_cliches_wind_you_up_the_most/
6: https://www.reddit.com/r/copypasta/comments/mr8g9h/reddit/
If you want further tips on the art of saying nothing while saying something, Big Talk about Small Talk[7] and part 2 More Big Talk about Small Talk[8] might be of interest.
7: https://www.reddit.com/r/NewToReddit/comments/ovodna/sunday_funday/
8: https://www.reddit.com/r/NewToReddit/comments/ph6vxv/more_big_talk_about_small_talk/
A Redditor was kind enough in 2019 to share a “small-talk cheat sheet”[9] they made for a client they were coaching, with a downloadable pdf version too. They have an excellent website “Social Confidence for Nerdy Guys”[10] which I can attest can help with social confidence for “Nerdy Gals” too.
10: https://www.techlecticism.com/
You can also improve your debating skills by knowing some common logical fallacies[11] which are often used in argument and debate[12].
11: https://academicinfluence.com/inflection/study-guides/logical-fallacies
12: https://thebestschools.org/magazine/15-logical-fallacies-know/
Use your setbacks as “Stepping Stones To Success”[13] with these quotes to think about.
13: https://infoselfdevelopment.com/how-to-use-your-mistakes-as-steeping-stones/
And finally, this is an excellent Beginner's Guide to Arguing Constructively[14] with plenty of examples and explanations.
14: https://liamrosen.com/arguments.html
r/socialskills is full of people helping each other to overcome awkward interactions, and subs like r/confidence, r/socialanxiety and r/selfimprovement are all communities to share strategies and learn from others.
There's nothing here!