Starting a conversation is as easy for some people as eating and breathing. However, if you suffer from social anxiety disorder (SAD), a room full of strangers can be as frightening as moving to a foreign country. If the stranger that you are looking to start a conversation with is an authority figure, this just adds to your anxiety. Here are helpful tips when trying to start a conversation. Often the person you are trying to start a conversation【C1】______ will have some item of jewelry, an unusual shirt or maybe even a tattoo; something distinctive that tells a story about the【C2】______. Items like this give you a starting【C3】______ for conversation. After you receive a【C4】______, the key is to have something else to say that will give you a【C5】______ platform on which to build a conversation and a relationship. You need to think of a follow-up【C6】______ before you start. This is the key to building a conversation. Follow up with something personal that【C7】______ to the other person and that tells them something interesting about you. Try the old standby, “Haven’t I seen you somewhere before?“【C8】______ the right circumstances, this conversation starter can work. If you【C9】______ to someone, “You seem really familiar. Do I know you from somewhere?“, it makes it very easy to start a conversation. All these help【C10】______ you to the person and keep the conversation moving: What high school did you【C11】______? Did you play an instrument? Where do you work? I’ve been to that Starbucks. As you go through the details of the other person’s life story, you should feel 【C12】______ to change subject. Remember, you don’t really want to find out if you’ve met before; you want to get to【C13】______ each other. One of the best ways to start a conversation is to make a funny【C14】______ about your surroundings. “Hey, doesn’t our instructor look like Harry Potter?“ or, “Is the guy in the front row asleep?“ The goal is not to be mean-spirited or judgmental, so be sure to 【C15】______ your comments light-hearted. Try to invite the other person in on the joke. “Where do you think he keeps his magic wand, in his briefcase?“ or “Do you think he’s going to sleep through the whole class?“ This 【C16】______ of starting a conversation can be risky. Humor is difficult with an audience whom you don’t know well. However, if you find【C17】______ that shares your sense of humor, chances are that it will be the start of a great friendship. Remember that any of these tricks is【C18】______ to fail some of the time. If you don’t get a positive response from somebody, there are always other people that you can approach. If you are【C19】______, you will find that over time it will get easier to speak with strangers. As you become more【C20】______ and at ease you won’t need to rely on tricks to start conversations.