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Striking up a conversation and keeping things interesting and engaging is a great skill to have in any social situation, especially if you've just met someone in a club or a bar and you want to make a good impression.

If you need a conversation starter, try asking the person general topics like a question about hobbies, sports they might be into, if they're studying, or movies they like. Pick on cues as they talk to take the conversation forward into other areas so you keep things interesting and focus on common interests the person may have with you.

Genuinely show an interest in what they have to say. The more you get to know each other the better the conversation will get - the same reason why it's easy to talk to close friends you've known for a long time.

Let the other person talk freely. Studies have shown that the more the other person talks about themselves, the more interesting they'll usually gauge the conversation to be. It's good news for people who aren't big talkers - if the other person's happily chatting away for most of the time - you can be sure to know they're enjoying themselves without you needing to do much.

Avoid the conversation getting boring by not staying on the same topic all night - unless of course you're both genuinely enjoying it. At the same time, don't let the conversation dart from one topic to the next all the time.

Most important of all, enjoy the time you have together. It's always fun to meet new people, and who knows, the person might be a great new friend or even a future boyfriend/girlfriend.