Get Good At Small Talk

A time, my brother and I went to Officeworks to pick up his new gaming monitor.

We walked in, telling the workers that it was a click and collect.

Over the radio, they called over a team member to carry out the monitor to the front desk.

For a moment, there was a bit of silence. Perhaps coming off the high of talking to people all day at work, I started some small talk.

What I later discovered was that my brother liked one of the girls I was talking to at the front desk. I said to him,

"Man, if you told me I could have hyped you up and got her number. You could have talked to her!"

Then he explained that he didn't like small talk...

Don't get me wrong, I used to be in the same boat. I avoided small talk like the plague. Only focusing on my close niche of friends.

However, I think if you can reframe the connotations you have with small talk that it becomes more enjoyable.

Why Should I Learn To Get Good At Small Talk

There are a myriad of reasons why someone might want to learn how to small talk if they don't know already.

I'll give you the biggest one.

Being a productive member of society, your day will involve human interaction.

Why not make your time interacting with other human beings more enjoyable? Reduce that initial fear when interacting with a stranger.

Placing Too Much Importance

Go into the conversation with no expectations.

Before, I would have said to you,

"I do not care for the small talk. I only care about the big talk."

Largely, it was a defence mechanism not to have the brief moment of awkwardness with a stranger. To retreat in the familiar of my friends.

But, how does a good conversation sprout?

It must come from talking about the mundane and normal.

From there as two humans talking to each other, you will pick up different bids and threads of conversations you can pursue.

I also think it's the filter in which you have. If you can say what you want to say, people will respect you for it.

We're hardwired to weed out inauthenticity.

Why?

For the person in the tribe was lying had something to hide, meaning the jeopardy of our survival.

Alas, it takes two to tango.

If the person is not reciprocating, then don't continue with the conversation.

However though, I will say that everyone has something they want to talk about.

Perhaps not all the time.

But if you can find the one conversational thread that makes them excited to join the conversation, then you've achieved the point of small talk.