Being good at making small talk is a crucial life skill, and
is key for making a positive impression. Some tips to help you with this
include:
1. Go
prepared when you’re meeting new people, or when you have to attend a social
event. Think about some topics you can talk about with others (and that will
depend on the people you are meeting). Prepare some general questions to get
others talking (For example, what are they doing for the holidays; or what good
movies have they seen recently?) Also, if you’ve met some of the people at a
previous event, try to remember a few things about them (such as what are their
main interests, or where do they work?)
2. Most people feel uncomfortable when meeting
someone new so be the first person to say “hello.” If you’re not sure if the
person will remember you, help put them at their ease by saying who you are.
3. Don’t
rush introductions. Focus hard on remembering the names of those you meet, and
use them often to fix them in your mind.
4. Help
the other person talk by opening up the conversation with open-ended questions
that asks for more details. For example, “Isn’t this a great party! How do you
know (the host)?”
5. Pay
careful attention to what the person’s saying; don’t allow your mind to drift
or to start to wander off. Eye contact should be steady – so don’t glance to
the side.
6. Make
sure you listen more than you talk to someone new.
7. Work
on having something relevant and interesting to say. Know what’s going on and
making headlines in the news. These can help to open up a conversation. (For
example, you can lead with a comment like “What do you think about…?” Have you
heard…?” What is your take on…?”
8. Avoid
controversial and negative topics; also, refrain from boring stories that have
too many details. It’s meant to be a casual, light and easy conversation.
9. Pay
attention to your body language. If you act as if you’re comfortable and
confident, that will put the people around you at ease, too. However, if you
look shy, awkward and uncomfortable, that will rub off on the people you are
socialising with.
10. Before
you join a conversation that’s already in progress, first stand on the
sidelines and listen carefully. Don’t squeeze your way in with a badly-timed
remark.
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