The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-10-27
Cultivation o Conversation Is Easy
By BETTY VICENT

HOLLY is in quite a fix. She is pretty, sociable, can play the piano T and has a number of "girl friends, !" but, when it comes to the boys-Polly is simply lost.
 T am a graduate of a city high school, have attended college for one , year, and am eighteen years old" she 4 writes. "Among girls l am rather pop uiar and quite a favorite of all my E friends. am not the least bit self conscious when I am with girls, but z the minute I am with boys I'm hope !. less failure. I have nerer had very { much companionship with boys, for, I've been too, busy with. my school work, my piano and other things. Conse- quently, I feel rather queer in their presence. I, don't know what to say to them, and although the boys are supposed to start conversation, have never yet met one who didn't wait for
 me to begin.
 You see, this is my predicament- I am afraid to say the things think of for, not having been with boys much, I don't know how the will react to the things I say. I wouldn't hesitate a bit 5 if it were a girl. My friends tell me to act natural, but can't get it into my head that they're as human as my < girl friends are.
 q can dance well, but when a dance { is finished don't know just exactly what to do. Sometimes I've found that the boy doesn't know what to do either. < If we get seated I don't know what ! to say to him, and so we sit until the next dance begins.
 I havn S~ax. oALnuN nsula conversation with a chap they have deep in talk. I don't know what they find to talk about, but they seem to 5 be joking and talking is if they'd known him every day of their lives. I wish you would write something about that. There are probably thousands of others 5 in the same boat and I think it would help them too. I'm sure we're all as clever as the other girls, and wish you would help us find ourselves" From the trend of numerous letters I receive from girls rather imagine there are many other "Pollys" in ex- actly the same fix.
 Now one of the best rules for these "timid" girls to remember, when they are in company with the opposite sex, is treat your boy friends exactly the same way you would treat your girl friends" The moment you make dis tinction between the sexes a complex arises which is difficult for both the < girl and boy to overcome.
 S Polly is all wrong in saying ''boys are supposed to start a conversation. l" The girl is always the one who should speak the opening sentence. Just as it is a. girls privilege and duty to speak first after an introduction, so it is rather her role to open the line of Y Conversation. This may be why so \ many girls score as popular" who are not as pretty as their more timid sis < ters.
 If Polly were up on sports, music, books or some special line she would have no difficulty whatever in interest ing her escort. The girl who is up on the daily news is also at an advan- tage in keeping up a lively flow of conversation.
 No wonder Polly can't see "what x they find to talk about" The girl who waits for the average boy in his teens or early twenties to start conversa- tion beyond yeah" and nope" will be
 amazed to see some other girl laugh
 ing and talking with the same boy
 later in the evening.
 Girls find out what a boy likes to
 talk about. If he is interested in
 sports get him to talking along that
 line. Whether you know anything
 about sports or not isn't the. question.
 Get him to explain these things to you. I If he has a car or radio set get him
 to talking about them. Every youth < has some pet hobby. Find out what it k is and after you have discussed that
 all other conversation comes easily.