Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Furtuka]

Er yeah, I've had some problems in that regard and its starting to become really awkward. I am disgusted by gossip, so that's off the table and I don't know what else is there besides popular movies and school stuff.

[pisskop]

Jokes and each other.  You should watch some national news daily, at least to keep informed enough to discuss superfical issues.

Sometimes, though, you gotta accept you have nothing to say to one another.

[Jervill]

Find a sport you like.  Even if it is a little obscure.  Some sports fans can be quite nerdy about the statistics involved (baseball, football, even hockey to some extent).

[Levi]

In my experience; Cars, Phones, Cameras and Sports.

Unfortunately I have no interest in any of those things.   

[LordBucket]

What do I talk to non nerdy people about?

Don't. Listen to whatever they talk about. Pretend you find it interesting.

Do this enough and you'll gain knowledge of whatever other people are talking about and eventually somebody will talk about something and you will have awareness of it in common with them because you've already spoken to other people about it.

[GlyphGryph]

The news, interesting things that have happened to them/you, travel, adventures, hobbies, and, of course, food and music.

[kaijyuu]

Talk to them about nerdy things. Conversations are two-way; if they're not willing to listen to what you have to say, then you're under no obligation to listen to what they have to say. Of course, you have to feign interest in their hobbies as well (and who knows, maybe you won't be feigning it later).

[Alastar]

It's little use to talk about things that don't interest you. You can find a nerdy angle on many things...

Food and why it's prepared a certain way (and when convention is wrong, if you can back it up).
Most technology... practically anything where design crops up. Definitely applies to cars, phones and cameras.
Arts and media: Who stole what from whom, styles of certain times, conventions, tropes and cheap tricks.
Heck, even relationships can be interesting if you turn them into strategy games (whether they are zero-sum games depends on how far they have progressed...).

[King DZA]

"By the end of your life, what is the greatest thing you hope accomplish?" has always worked as a good icebreaker for me.

[DJ]

I can't believe nobody mentioned the weather. Yes, it's beyond cliche, but it works.

[Trapezohedron]

What do I talk to non nerdy people about?

Don't. Listen to whatever they talk about. Pretend you find it interesting.

Do this enough and you'll gain knowledge of whatever other people are talking about and eventually somebody will talk about something and you will have awareness of it in common with them because you've already spoken to other people about it.

^
Listening enough gives you knowledge to know what they're talking about and how to respond to it. But yeah, sometimes you have to face that you must either gossip a little or stay stuck without a topic to share.

Talking about love life is sure to get everyone listening.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Don't talk to people who prefer topics you find uninteresting.

[lordcooper]

Don't talk to people who prefer topics you find uninteresting.

This.

[Flying Dice]

Talk to them about nerdy things. Conversations are two-way; if they're not willing to listen to what you have to say, then you're under no obligation to listen to what they have to say. Of course, you have to feign interest in their hobbies as well (and who knows, maybe you won't be feigning it later).

This.

And if you really feel that you need to talk to people that you can't be yourself around, talk about [uni students]: sports, drinking, people of the opposite gender, how much you hate X class or professor; [co-workers]:  sports, drinking, people of the opposite gender, how much you hate X aspect of the job/supervisor, how stupid customer Y was.

[Korbac]

Mostly good advice here. LordBucket and Metalslimehunt both have good advice, depending on how desperate you are to like some people. Also, as DJ said, weather. Or just what you were up to last night. That's what my colleagues always used to ask me (I guess because they knew I was a bit weird and that I had not much in common with them, haha.)

Sports tend to be a nice safe subject if you know enough; news is good too but careful not to segway into controversial statements or material. Popular TV programs are good, as are hobbies.

If all goes well, you will only have to bother doing these things conciously for a slight period of time, before the other person gets to know you well enough to generate some topics.