Ever been in a situation where everyone seemed awkward, and you know
that if only the right magic wand could be waved, everything would
change and people would get on really well? For example, dinner parties
can be like this: the hosts invite all their interesting friends,
knowing they normally can be relied upon to be entertaining but then
nobody speaks. Or what conversation there is lacks energy. It is polite,
but guarded. Boring, even.
Well next time you find yourself in
such a situation, there's a conversation technique that gets everyone's
energy levels up -- use games to introduce the element of fun.
Anyone
who has ever been at a party where a game has been played will have
noticed that the participants become livelier after; levels of formality
drop considerably, and it's as if everyone were old friends.