Making small talk might not be everyone’s forte, especially introverts since they are deep talkers and enjoy speaking about everything under the sun. However, it is important to know the significance of this soft skill, especially for passing by social events. Let’s see how to make small talk with people without you feeling awkward or out of place.
What Is Small Talk?
Small talks are polite conversations you have with people to pass the time in between certain events. They are mostly unimportant and do not reap anything of interest out of the other person. People use these talks to network and establish repo. However, if you know what you are doing, you can make the other person not only open up, but you can make a new friend as well.
Also Read: How To Make Friends As An Introvert
How To Make Small Talk With People: 5 Simple Ques To Use
Talking about the weather is cliche so don’t start with that unless there is a tsunami or a hurricane in your city or town. Aside from the weather, there are fair bit of things you can talk about in this department ranging from mutual interests to health. Let me explain.
Talk About Shared Interests
If you are at a work meeting or event, talk about the field you are in. Talk about trends, personalities, co-workers, happenings, anything, to get the ball rolling. As the conversation starts, you will find newer cues and interests to continue your conversation on. However, do not stick to just work talk, make it fun and exciting.
Pull Out The ‘Favorite’ Card
Asking about a favorite movie or game or anything under the sun can help you understand them better. Although, this will not work with most people above your age group. For ex, if you are a teen asking this to a full fledged adult, unless they are cool, they’ll think you are ignorant. Therefore, it is a good idea to use this tip at the right time and wait for your openings.
If the talk of anything ranging from pop culture or interests arise, then you are free to use this cue.
Ask How They Got Into Their Industry
Asking people how they entered their industry is a simple cue that everyone should try out. It is an open ended discussion and it can lead to many other topics without it seeming like a reach or an attempt at being too familiar. This should do wonders if they are mentors or someone you want to take advice from for your career.
Talk About Your Mutual Friend
A lot of times, you will be introduced to a person through another person. That is the best time to use your mutual friend as a common ground to get to know about the person in front of you. Most of the time, they will share stories or describe traits of your mutual friend which you can use to jumpstart other conversations.
Don’t Force It
Sometimes, the best thing to do in terms of small talk is to not force it. Stay silent and chime in when asked, this can let you gather enough information about the other party so that you can jumpstart conversations. Be aware of social cues and what the glass ceiling is for the other person. By glass ceiling I mean what the other person does or does not get offended by.
Small Talk Questions You Can Try Out
Try these 10 questions which are casual, fun to answer and won’t result in awkward looks from the people you try it on.
- How did the two of you meet? (In this case, you are talking about the person opposite to you and your mutual friend)
- Got any (movie, song, book) recommendations for me? (depending on previous convos and area of interest)
- What are your plans after this? (event, gathering, whatever the meet is about)
- Would you like to join us for lunch/dinner? (an invitation lets the person’s guard down, encouraging more fluent conversation)
- Are you a (_) or a (_) person? (Tea or coffee, cat or dog, you get the gist)
- What hobbies do you have?
- If money wasn’t an issue, what would you have been doing right now?
- What is your dream country you want to visit?
- What’s your guilty pleasure?
- What is your go-to chilling spot?
The Verdict
Making small talk with people requires a concrete grasp on the environment, the situation and information on the kind of person you are talking to. Reading body language and other subtle hints presented through conversations can help you establish repo and make small talk more effectively.
Going out there and learning as much as you can about people is the best way you can do this. For more Life advice, check out this page.
If you are interested in Pop Culture, this section will be more up your speed.