Small talk often gets a bad rap. It can feel awkward, superficial and pointless at times — if you’re doing it wrong.
But it’s one of the most powerful tools in your arsenal to build relationships, exude a strong presence and even lift your mood.
The problem with most small talk is that it’s happening on autopilot, which means that people are asking questions they can already predict the answers to, such as:
- “How are you?”
- “How’s the weather?”
- “How was your weekend?”
When you ask autopilot questions, you can almost guarantee you’ll get autopilot responses:
- “I’m good, thanks. How about you?”
- “It’s so cold!”
- “My weekend was good, thanks. How about yours?”
Want the antidote to autopilot small talk? Use conversational threading.
The power of conversational threading
Conversational threading is a technique that leads to more meaningful interactions by creating or pulling on “threads” — or compelling little tidbits that encourage more flowing …