We've all been there. You're talking with somebody and all of a sudden the creek runs dry. You both awkwardly looking to the other and around, neither quite sure how to make the social agony end. As an omnivert, I have days where this never happens and others where it's the only thing I got. The general idea of asking about the other person almost always works, but what happens if you run out of questions? Besides sticking note cards with "questions to get to know someone" prompts, how are we supposed to organically rejuvenate the conversation - or better yet prevent it from ever getting out of flow. I'm not going to pretend to have the answer, but perhaps asking another question can help us explore this more satisfactorily. Do you care enough about the other person to put in the effort to have a great conversation? *A lot of times I mess up here, either stuck in my own thoughts or wanting to talk about something else or generally deploying a lack of empathy for the other person.* Luckily my partner Bridget is quick to point out my flaws here and, should I be mature enough in the moment or later to properly use the criticism instead of getting defensive, maybe I can do this better. In fact, in reflecting more on this topic as I'm writing this, I'm struggling to think of any additional question to explore this because that seems to be the core issue. Further, I may have inadvertently been living my life - or at least a part of it - in a way incongruent with my own values. Treating people with respect is important to me, but I can't respect the other party enough to put my effort into creating a more meaningful conversation? The exception to this is when the other party is somebody I don't want to associate with, perhaps they're toxic, energy vampires, etc. But for those who I do seek to have a better connection with, I can see now how to better resuscitate the exchange by leading with the respect for them in the form of progressing the conversation to the best of my ability. Mentally it's turning into a game now to see if and how I can talk to anyone and everyone (minus the exceptions since I'd rather not but for a good reason). Let's see how this holds up over time.