Best Posts in Thread: Small Talk

I've never had this problem. I can literally talk to anyone at anytime...the key thing is to just talk! Say anything! I remember I was in Las Vegas for work and was sitting alone at a crowded restaurant bar, old white man sat next to me and we easily struck up a conversation. Sports helps, its universal.

Discussing Food and Alcohol is easy too. I did that last night with a black girl around my age, she spoke to me first and I was like:

"I'm just trying to decide if I want a drink or not."

"Easy answer, yes," she said. "You only live once."

"What's that you're drinking?" I said.

"Pinot Noir. Trying something different. As long as its red."

"Oh you like your liquor dark, huh. You know what they say about dark, gonna have you dancing on tables in a minute."

Anyway, I just went off her vibe and kept it light and casual...nothing serious like religion or politics.

One thing that always works is to open with a compliment about something about the other person and then elaborate with more questions based on that, being sure to include your personal info as well.

"Man, I wish I could get my beard to grow like yours."

He responds. Continue talking about the importance of grooming and looking clean or how beards give off a certain appearance or how itchy they can be or whatever...just talk and ASK the other person questions, people love to talk about themselves...lol.

 

I get it. I've gotten better over the years with small talk. For me, you have to be comfortable in the environment you are in or else, you will shut down even saying "Hi" to someone. If you are comfortable, it's a lot easier. If I am comfortable in the environment I'm in, I will try to find the most basic thing to talk about like "Damn it sure is raining out here!" or "This elevator is sooo slow" or if someone says something like those I will just chime in saying "Yeah, I hate the rain!" or "I know. It was like this yesterday...".

1. Make sure you are comfortable in the environment you are in.
2. Find the most basic thing to talk about/say something about.
3. Make eye contact or give some gestures to help with moving into the conversation.