7.2: Friends – Small Talk

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Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/concentrated-diverse-colleagues-working-on-laptop-and-brainstorming-4353594/

CREDIT: Ketut Subiyanto/Pexels

Three women in concentrated discussion across a table. One is Asian, one White and the third Black — Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Concentrated brainstorming over a table. (CC0; Ketut Subiyanto via Pexels)

One of the more difficult things for a lot of people is engaging in small talk. It became even more difficult during the pandemic. And yet, the first step in making friends is almost always to engage in small talk. Small talk is also the key to re-engaging with friends with whom we haven’t been in contact for a while, such as at a class reunion.

We begin, of course, by simply introducing ourselves. Read this short article on how to do that: A Simple Way to Introduce Yourself.

Now, listen to this audiobook summary:

The Fine Art of Small Talk

(The notes under the audiobook summary include the ability to read the summary or to download the entire audiobook.)

Is silence golden? What did Debra learn about that from Bob?

Why are names important? Give one technique to help remember names. Should you shorten a person’s name?

Discuss the use of an icebreaker.

How can you make the person you are talking with feel important and connected with you?

How can you avoid awkward pauses?

How can you exit a conversation gracefully?

Here’s a list of 30 questions to engage in sensational small talk:

How to make GREAT Small Talk

Practical exercise: Your instructor will divide you into pairs of two. Introduce yourselves to each other and learn all you can about each other for five minutes. At the end of that time, each class member should share what s/he has learned about his/her partner with the class.