Small talk is big. It is HUGE. It is everywhere and it is an important skill.
Small talk is the small informal filler conversation in day to day...
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When I saw the title of the post I clicked thinking it was an introvert guide to the language Smalltalk :DD
I tend to think that weather is a topic you bring up if you don't actually want to talk with the other person or you run out of options :D The other four can lead up to pretty interesting conversations even if then it might be hard to ending those conversation if you feel uncomfortable.
Networking is a tricky business ;D
me too
Thank you for sharing, I hate small talk but I've been practising and it's getting easier. I read a book called 'How to talk to anyone' and picked up some tricks,
Use their name
People like to hear their name and it shows that you know who they are.
Never use a naked answer
When someone asks you a question and you want to continue the conversation try not to give a plain or one-word answer.
e.g. When Jane from QA asks if you have any pets, instead of saying 'no' say 'no, I'd like a cat but I'm allergic' or 'no, but I'd love to get a Labrador some day'.
Get a conversation piece
As mentioned above, it's an good way to start a conversation so if you need to network try to have or wear something that will give people an easy way to start a conversation with you. A pokemon pin could help you find someone with common interests, a 'I <3 python' sticker on your laptop might lead to a job offer, who knows!
That's a scientifically proven fact, right?
Because I, personally, find it rather annoying. My boss is doing it all the time, but I may just dislike it because I know he's been trained to do so back when he worked in a callcenter. It probably only works as long as it seems genuine.
Not a fact, just a generalisation. Sorry your boss is using yours in a way that feels uncomfortable.
In his defense, he's not using it in a creepy way or anything like that. But he explicitely told us he learned to do so at work in a callcenter – which leads to kind of automatically associating it with some subtle way of manipulation.
Anyway, from their perspective (a marketing perspective) this probably makes sense if it's well-received on average.
While I've always described myself as an introvert, I would say that I've gone from insecure introvert to assertive introvert since I started working in development. Small talk isn't part of the job description and I don't have to do it if I don't want to. I've noticed that small talk can be used to fill time so you can talk about anything. I'll talk about D&D, cultural differences, food, martial arts, etc. and people often. If they don't care or talk about stuff I don't care about then I'm done, introverts can live without small talk.
I usually avoid any smalltalk. Works well.
I try to ask questions that invoke positive answers. For example, instead of "how was your day?", ask "did anything exciting happen to you today?"