At time this article is being written, people are interested in landing on Mars. The gophers are pretty thick where I live right now and no one really knows why. Pick loose ended topics that people aren’t very emotional about.

This is an interview style familiar to you if you watch great interviewers on tv or hear them on radio. Top interviewers prepare their questions carefully ahead of time so it’s ok for you to do that, too. And pretty soon you can throw away notes!

Here's a list of questions you can ask any extrovert that they will probably enjoy answering.

(1)“What's new?”

It’s hard to realize that this is a legitimate way to start a conversation but it usually works if said with enthusiasm and expectation. Or you might try, “What’s new? I haven’t seen you for awhile …. prompting them to continue with raised eyebrows of expectation!”

(2) Let something on person catch your eye – this works especially well for intuitives (the ENs or Ins in personality typing) - and comment like this … “Where'd you get that [gorgeous leather purse][totally unique green hat][efficient looking daytimer][antique desk], [adorable Vintage costume]? It looks so cool!”

Say this with enthusiasm not earnestness. You don’t really want to know but you want someone to talk to you tonight! (2)Here’s another one … “Boy traffic was really something on way over here! Did you have trouble getting here on time, too?”

They can go either way with this and it may also lead to a discussion of cars, policemen, intersections, routes, way town is {growing][shrinking], etc. (3)If you’re at a meeting and I hope you’re at several of these a month as they’re easiest ways to meet people and network … “Great speaker, wasn't it? Do you like public speaking?” or “That guy was pretty interesting. Wonder who got him for speaker. Ever heard of him before?” or “What’d you think of speaker?” [can go either way]

Then just listen. Hopefully there will be some dramatic reaction or colorful stories you can enjoy hearing about. (4)“How about X’s [name a professional ball team] game last week? That was really something!”

This conversation can go either way. Remember to keep it to small talk, so mostly you want to keep person talking rather than really exchanging significant information or taking topic somewhere that it could get antagonistic. (5)Also at meeting … “This is a really nice [setting] [restaurant] [dining room] [campus] [car], isn't it?

Very interesting decor.” With any luck at all, they will have a strong opinion, some experience in other places that were [better][worse] and you can listen.

These are questions your extroverted associates should enjoy talking about. If you listen actively when they reply, you can get them to carry conversation for awhile as they warm to topic.

To extend conversations like this so you don’t have to go somewhere else and start all over, try peppering your listening with what are calling “flavoring” words and phrases. These are verbal cues for person to continue talking. They are said in an inviting tone of voice. We are inviting person to continue by showing interest.

“Really? Tell me more.” “Where’d you learn that?” “Where’d you hear that?” ”Where’d you find that out?” “Where can I find something like that?” “It must have taken a lot of time to find that out.” ”You’re really good at this, aren’t you?” Of course if person you’re talking to is an introvert, you’ll want to keep it short and move on since both of you dislike small talk.

Once we get idea of what small talk is, we can join in as well as everyone else. Remember general rule is to keep topic so “small” or open-ended that nobody feels left out or antagonized. Save your ”big” talk, your serious conversations, for your introverted honey back home in front of fire.

How? Well, we need to get tricky.

The left side takes over tasks UNLESS it finds a particular job undesirable. If a certain task takes too much time, is too detailed or slow or simply too difficult, then left side gives up. So, trick is presenting task--in this case, drawing--in such a way that right side is allowed to jump in.

This happens a lot with words. When we try to describe something verbally and find it too difficult, what do we do? We rely on gestures. Just try to describe a spiral staircase without using your hands.

Dr. Edwards teaches people to draw by presenting them with images that are upside down. This puts left brain in a state of confusion so that it can't easily decipher shapes, assign a top and bottom, attach labels and categorize them to match stored memories.

The key to integrating your right side lies in looking for opportunities to allow it to become dominant. When presented with a confusing image, your left side gives up. We should literally turn things upside down in an effort to thwart left brain's control and let R-mode take over.

This same idea works in creative problem solving. Sometimes best way to deal with a challenging issue is to sleep on it. When left brain is exhausted, intuitive, subjective, holistic right side has a chance to sneak in and come up with a solution that seems to have come "from nowhere". See? We don't even give our right brains credit for creative insights!

It's exciting to think that there are ways to outsmart our brains. By intentionally putting ourselves in a state of mental conflict, we can enhance our creativity.

Look for ways to plunge yourself into that discomfort zone. Whether we're tackling a picture or a problem, key to jumpstarting our right brain lies in shifting our perspective.

Grab a pencil, turn picture upside down, and start drawing! Somewhere inside you, that frustrated artist will be grinning from ear to ear.