Conversation Enhancers

As you move through the Winter months where you live, you may find conversations with those you’re “cooped up” with getting a little tense.  Some science-based suggestions for smoothing your interactions with those you’re sharing (an often too small) space with, with various levels of easy-to-execute-ness include:

• Adding warmer colors to surfaces—that’ll increase the likelihood of positive discussions as the people you’re talking with will themselves seem warmer.
• Warmer, dimmer light, as from a candle or a fire, is relaxing and has been tied to behaving in more socially positive ways.
• Make sure that all people participating in a conversation are seated on surfaces the same height above the floor (in other words, in chairs/on sofas with chairs that are all about the same length or all on pillows on the floor)—that way no one is looked up to or down on, with obvious effects on perceptions of the contributions they’re making to a conversation.
• Seat everyone so that they can make ready eye contact or are around a round table—and having a table between people can actually be a good thing when conversations get tough, because that furniture can create needed psychological distance.If two people or so will be involved in a conversation, lining up the fronts of their seats so that they’re at right angles to each other is best so that people can gracefully break eye contact.  Also, for groups of any size, something to look at that doesn’t require much pivot of heads on necks when there’s been enough eye contact (and we all need an eye contact break every so often) is great—that may be a plant on a table top or a view out a window or something similar.  Another plus:  seats with at least a slight cushion as opposed to harder, uncushioned ones.  Even some recliners can be a plus; we’re much more even tempered when provoked when sitting in a reclining position that if we’re seated in a more straight up and down posture.
• Plants should be a part of a space for conversations whether they’re on table tops or elsewhere as they’re mentally refreshing to look at and having a conversation is mentally exhausting.The same goes for art depicting nature.  For more information on creating mentally refreshing spaces read this article. 
• Add subtle scents to make wherever you’ll talk smell good; good smells=> good moods.