So you’re in a conversation with some people, and the conversation is not going in your direction. Perhaps it’s about something that you don’t know much about, or something that you don’t understand – or it’s just about something that you’re not passionate about.

When you’re in this situation, you get frustrated. As the conversation progresses and gets more and more heated, you start to panic. You feel the need to somehow swing the conversation in your direction.

So you either change the topic – which is a mistake, because you just needlessly killed a great conversation – or you feel driven to say something totally stupid.

Here’s what I tell guys who find themselves in that situation: it’s a great time to shut up and learn.

Life repeats itself nonstop. Twenty days later you may find yourself in that same conversation again. This time, you’ll know what to say. You’ll be able to add your opinion and provide interesting facts. Remember, knowledge is power.

When I’m in a situation where I don’t know what is going on, I shut up. I allow myself to listen and learn. I don’t try to add in clever comments just to stay in the game.

To stay in the conversation, I do look at the person speaking and show my interest in what they are saying. I direct my body language to the speaker, keep my eyes open and stay engaged. I’m enjoying the conversation; I’m having fun (even if I can’t contribute to the topic.)

The most important thing is to drop your ego. Your ego is what makes you think, how can I get this conversation in my direction? In reality, often that strong, silent type wins!

And twenty minutes later, you can pull the woman in the conversation aside and say to her, “That was really fascinating. I had no idea about the depth of the economic shakedown,” or whatever it might be. “I had no clue. Did you know all of that stuff? Are you passionate about that stuff?” In this way, you can bring the conversation back into your realm.

You have to learn that knowledge is key. Knowledge is the key to everything you do in life.

It’s all right to be silent. It’s all right to say that you don’t know about a topic. It’s great to listen!

Todays video explores why all men are 18.