Biscous Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Because frankly I'm not too good at it unless I know the person beyond an acquaintance. I'd like to get better at it. Any guides/tips? I'm really talking about initiating women into small talk. Link to post Share on other sites
d0nnivain Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Read up or watch current events. You don't have to discuss politics or something controversial but the news can be a great conversation starter. For example my husband & I talked about that SouthWest airplane that went to the wrong airport the other day. Get better at asking questions. Many people love to talk about themselves & if you get them started they will think you are a sparkling conversationalist when all you did was give them an ear & a platform. 4 Link to post Share on other sites
nescafe1982 Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Get better at asking questions. Many people love to talk about themselves & if you get them started they will think you are a sparkling conversationalist when all you did was give them an ear & a platform. This is what I do. As long as it doesn't turn into a rapid-fired interview, this is a perfect tactic for an introvert who needs to shine in a small-talk (or networking) situation. People like interested people. They find interested people interesting. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Iguanna Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Oh God, I hate small talk. You may as well torture me than put me in a group with people I don't know and force me to talk to them. But I guess what you should do is find a subject you think will interest them according to what they do when you meet them, what they wear, how they act. For instance if you meet them in the bus you can comment on having waited for the bus too long and make a joke on it. I think it just requires some practice, like pretty much everything we do. Some people are more talented with talking of course so it's easier for them. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
USMCHokie Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Talk to everyone, especially the ones you have absolutely no interest in sleeping with. Become an active listener. 4 Link to post Share on other sites
ChessPieceFace Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Oh God, I hate small talk. You may as well torture me than put me in a group with people I don't know and force me to talk to them. This. Primary reason why I remain alone (but not even close to the only reason.) Neither any talent nor any interest in small talk. Link to post Share on other sites
gaius Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 I listened to Howard Stern a lot. He has an uncanny ability to find the interesting nugget in just about everything and is a great communicator in general. No joke, if you want to get better at small talk surround yourself with those who are good at it and he just might be #1. Link to post Share on other sites
Guitarisgood Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 If you are talking about interactions with woman, here's my 1,2's: -Don't talk. Girls will talk their head off and just expect you to listen. It leaves us advantageous actually because you remain a 'mystery' to her. What you can do is just add little words to link her 'talking'. The simple 'oh so what happened next' etc so that you carry the conversation. If a subject is about to end then pick up something from before she was talking about and then add that as the next topic starter i.e. 'oh so you actually play chess?...' -Don't talk about boring stuff. Forget the news or stuff as such. Just have fun and tease and flirt. Everyone loves it because you're basically tickling eachothers ego. Going back to the initial point so if she mentions she is uncoordinated, give her little jibes about it but remember to smile and stuff so she knows you are simply teasing her. -Compliment: guy or girl everyone loves it. My favourite thing to do is if they are talking mid sentence to simply drop a random compliment I have noticed about them. It catches them off guard Link to post Share on other sites
GravityMan Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 To add to d0nnivain's comment... Try not to think about it too much. Small talk is easier and more likely to flow if you're relaxed. And yes, listening is important. That goes for any conversation, not just small talk. Sometimes all it takes is a simple opener about some recent current event that piqued your interest and next thing you know 5-10 minutes have suddenly passed due to you and the other person just chatting and laughing about the subject. Link to post Share on other sites
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