Touchy and Taboo Topics

• Sex. Launching into talk about sex too early can raise all kinds of anxieties and confusion ("Is he coming on to me?" "Does she always get sexy with guys on the first date?"). If you cannot resist talking about a sexual topic, stick to current events and generalizations about opinions without being too personal ("What do you think about the new morning-after pill -- will it make men refuse to use condoms?" or "Do you think they should have rejected that sex-education bill?").
  
  
• Morbid topics are a risk but can be engaging, depending on the other person's interests. For example, I have cared deeply about the Jon Benet murder case (the six-year-old beauty queen found strangled in the basement of her home). I can bring up this subject with others but need to be sensitive about whether they are disinterested or find the subject too depressing to talk about.

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