I HAVE SUBSCRIBED TO AWKWARD SILENCE BUT HAVEN’T RECEIVED MY STARTER PACK/WEEKLY SUBSCRIPTION.

If you haven’t received your weekly subscription to Awkward Silence or your starter pack, add awkwardsilence@awkwardsilence.com.au and info@awkwardsilence.com.au to your “safe senders” list.  And contact us so that we can forward you anything you have missed out on.  We want to help resolve the issue, we want you to get what you’ve paid for.   Hotmail users in particular should add us to your “safe senders” list.  Subscribe to our Twitter & Facebook pages too to be alerted in the unlikely event that Awkward Silence is having technical problems.

I AM A GMAIL USER AND HAVEN'T RECEIVED MY STARTER PACK/WEEKLY SUBSCRIPTION

Most Gmail inboxes come with three tabs: Primary, Social, and Promotions. We may have turned up in your Promotions tab due to the way Google read your incoming mail. Check your Promotions tab, click & hold on the email from Awkward Silence and drag it to your Primary tab. A message will pop up saying "The conversation has been moved to Primary. Do this for future messages from awkwardsilence@awkwardsilence.com.au?". Click 'Yes', and future emails from us will turn up in your Primary folder without trouble.

DO THE CONVERSATION STARTERS IN MY SUBSCRIPTION EVER REPEAT?

The conversation starters used in your regular subscription never repeat.  You will get new ones each week.  However, Awkward Silence will sometimes offer packages (eg: The Awkward Silence App, E-Books, Best of 2017) which may re-use conversation starters already sent out as part of the regular subscription.  But rest assured that your regular subscription will contain all new conversation starters every week.

I SUBSCRIBED WITH MY PAYPAL EMAIL, BUT WANT MY SUBSCRIPTION SENT TO A DIFFERENT EMAIL ADDRESS

No problem.  If you haven’t mentioned it in your order comments, send us a message at info@awkwardsilence.com.au and we will make the necessary arrangements.

I’M PRETTY, CAN I GET A FREE SUBSCRIPTION?

Yes.  Get someone to buy a subscription for you.

I NEED TO CHANGE MY DETAILS

Contact us at info@awkwardsilence.com.au and we will sort it out.

I COULD GOOGLE THE ANSWER TO SOME OF THESE CONVERSATION STARTERS

True, but ask your friends the question first and see what they think the answer is. It's more interesting that way. 

MY FRIEND HAS ASKED ME TO DEFINE THE WORDS IN THIS QUESTION.  THIS CONVERSATION STARTER ISN’T SPECIFIC ENOUGH.

Pick a definition for any words that aren’t precise enough, one that is likely to result in the best conversation, and run with it. Some people will find hang-ups in the questions to avoid answering them, but the people who get the most out of Awkward Silence are the ones that want to have the conversation. These people look for green lights rather than building stop signs.

WILL THE AWKWARD SILENCE APP CHANGE MY LIFE FOR THE BETTER?

Yes.

WHY IS THE APP AVAILABLE ON ANDROID DEVICES BUT NOT APPLE/IOS DEVICES YET?

Awkward Silence developed a prototype of the app to use on Apple/ios devices which is ready to go. We spent considerable time & money endeavouring to make it available. Unfortunately Apple's prohibitive policies, poor attitude to customers and greed make it impossible at this point in time to make the app available. However, we are aware that a fraction of the market will continue to use Apple products, and we hope at some point to somehow make the app available to these customers.

CAN I SUGGEST A CONVERSATION STARTER TO BE INCLUDED IN THE WEEKLY EMAIL?

You are welcome to send in a conversation starter. However, we receive many submissions. In the event we use yours, we can’t say when it will happen and you won’t receive any payment for it. You will also waive any claims to intellectual property rights over it. (Basically, we are covering ourselves from any legal shenanigans.) But you are more than welcome to use the conversation starter in your own conversations.

PEOPLE ANSWER QUESTIONS WITH "I DON'T KNOW"

Because Awkward Silence often offer questions that may not have been asked before, the respondent may not have an off-the-cuff response immediately. They may be inclined to answer with "I don't know" and leave it at that. But let them ponder the question a little longer or tease them out with a few suggestions. Give them some thinking time, and that pause of perhaps even just ten seconds will give them a chance to consider their answer. It may feel a little awkward, but the discussion will kick into action if given a chance. Of course, if there really is no answer then you have 9 other conversation starters in your weekly email to try instead.  

OFTEN OUR CONVERSATIONS LEAD TO ARGUMENTS

Learn to hear each other out. Be respectful of each other. Remember that it’s OK if people have a different opinion to you. Take an interest in their perspective. Read more tips here.

I REALLY LIKE THIS WEEK'S CONVERSATION STARTERS AND WANT TO SAVE THEM FOR FUTURE USE

That's terrific. We suggest that when you receive your weekly subscription from Awkward Silence, add it to a special folder in your email cabinet.  That way you can access them easily again in the future. And the deluxe app released each year to subscribers includes all conversation starters sent in the previous year.

Anything we missed?  Email us at info@awkwardsilence.com.au.