Nathan Pyle Shares Secrets For What To Do When You Zone Out During a Conversation

Nathan Pyle Shares Secrets For What To Do When You Zone Out During a Conversation

How often do you get caught in a conversation that is going on and on to the point that you zone out? Then when you return from your little reverie, you don't know how to get back in. Or perhaps you don't have an answer to the dilemma that the other person is currently facing.

Nathan Pyle of BuzzFeed has some great suggestions on what to say in different scenarios to make it seem like you were listening the whole time. In "How to Win Friends and Influence People," Dale Carnegie wrote "to be interesting, be interested." These tips will make you seem like the most interesting/interested person ever.

Citing a rogue puppy, subway commuter stress, and the highly sensitive topic of tablecloths versus place mats, we put some of his phrases to the test in our interview above.

Here's the entire list of his conversation tricks.

For more from Pyle, specifically for NYC basic tips and etiquette, check out his book of the same name (in paperback and animated super-GIF versions!) and of course BuzzFeed.

I really appreciate these phrases because I have a definite focus problem and my mind sometimes wanders. Now, instead of being my usual blunt self ("I'm sorry I wasn't listening, what were you saying?"), I'll be able to finesse my way back when I've drifted off in a conversation. And I'll also practice paying more attention. I promise.

What tricks do you use when you've lost track of a conversation? Let's see your best phrases in the comments below.