A Guide To Successful Small Talk

Do you feel conscious about learning to small talk? You might be a bit nervous starting to socialize again because being indoors all the time means we haven’t had a chance to engage in small talk!

Spending such a significant amount of time in isolation made certain aspects of life unnecessary, especially small talk. This virus had us scrambling from strangers for about a year, and now that the time has come to reintegrate into society, we’re feeling conscious.

You don’t forget how to socialize, it’s something you learn as a kid, and it stays with you, even if you haven’t socialized in a year. But if you need to brush up on your small talk, here are some tips.

Awkwardness

You can talk about your awkwardness, especially the way you feel in the exact situation. Chances are the other person relates to the awkwardness as well; they’ve been in isolation too.

It’s a perfect Kickstarter for a conversation because it’s quite relevant. It’s also probably something that the two of you have in common right now, making the conversation easier.

Quarantine

You can talk about all the things you’ve done in quarantine. From the boredom you’ve experienced to work in your pajamas, many things are common experiences for many during quarantine, and it makes for light-hearted conversation!

Compliment

A compliment can make someone’s day, even if it’s a small one! A compliment can open up a conversation into different roots, and before you know it, you’ve made a really good friend!

Vacation

After the terrible year, we’ve had, we all needed a good break. Many people have already taken a mini-break throughout the lockdown or are planning to once everything is back in full swing!

You can talk about the things you intend to do in the future and even share past experiences. There’s a good chance that someone else has a great story of a little getaway from quarantine that could give you vacation ideas!

Thank them or ask for advice

Asking for advice keeps the conversation open and requires the other person’s input. That way, you can keep yourself from talking too much and listen to them.

Expressing gratitude for the little things helps them feel appreciated. It’s a good way to make others feel worthy, be it at work or even in your personal life, sometimes we forget so it’s important to remind yourself every once in a while!

Keep the conversation open.

You want to avoid talking too much, and a great way to do that is to avoid talking about what you love most. We tend to get invested in the conversation, and it gets boring for the other person.

Instead, ask questions, be curious, and find things you have in common so that you can talk about them. Keep your questions open-ended so the other person can elaborate on their end and keep the conversation flowing.

Don’t be intimidated by talking to other people; we’re all in this together, and we’ll get through this together too! It might take a bit of time to get used to being social but don’t give up!