I talked to a founder friend last night about why some people are better at holding conversations than others. As we talked, I thought about a quote I read last year:

To be interesting, be interested

– Dale Carnegie

This is from How to Win Friends & Influence People, a great book. My interpretation of this quote is that curious people are better at holding conversations because they have a broader set of things they can talk about. If you can talk about more things, you’re likely to be able to relate to more people. Being interested also means being curious about what the people you’re conversing with want to talk about (what they’re interested in).

Please note that I’m suggesting that it’s good to be curious, not nosy. The two are quite different. People are drawn to curious people and repelled by nosy people.

If you want to be interesting and able to have good conversations with people, be curious.