BEYOND SMALL TALK

Tips to get

Social interactions

a key part of life

We meet new peopleeveryday…sometimes, every hour

How toinstantly connect with them?

They come from “diverse” walks of life

4 EASY STEPS

Step 1: Small Talk after the introductory ‘Hi’

Step 2: Learn each other’s background

Step 3: Build a conversation

Step 4: Sustain the conversation

STEP 1: SMALL TALK

Small talk – our chance to exchange pleasantries,sense moods,establish comfort.

Begin with a simple question:

“Nice party, eh?”

An excited response meanshe/she is in high spirits

and is probablyan extrovert

with a liking for large gatherings.

Follow up with a question like:

“What’s your connection to this event?”

STEP 2: LEARN EACH OTHER’S BACKGROUND

You want to know two things

WHATTHEY

DO

HOWYOU CAN

HELP

Don’t ask: “What do you do?” or “Tell me about your work.”

ASK: “How do you spend most of your time?”

And talk about your workDon’t say:

“I’m a software engineer.”

Hand outyour

business card

SAY: “I’m a programmer with a focus on web design.

My most recent work is so-and-so dot com.Let me write it down for you.”

STEP 3: BUILD A CONVERSATION

Take cues from Small Talk and Background.

***Discuss interests

(and hobbies, if appropriate)***

To be able to converse,develop the habit of reading.

For latest and general topics:Mashable, Fortune,

Reddit, Twitter, Quora,Flipboard, The Verge

Heard her talk about how good the wine tastes?

Ask more about her knowledge in wine.

You find the building’s design to be great?

Talk more about your interest and latest trends

in building designs.

STEP 3: SUSTAIN THE CONVERSATION

Take a genuine interestin what the other person is saying.

If you don’t understand what they’re saying, parrot his last few words as a question.

Let’s say your conversation partner says:“My wife wants us to buy a house to settle.But what I really want to buy is a Ferrari.”

Respond with:

“Ah! You’re a Ferrari fanboy?” This is certain to get him excited

and he will go on to tell you about his lovefor Ferrari.

RECAP:

Step 1: Establish rapport during small talk

Step 2: Learn about each other

Step 3: Build a conversation

by discussing interests

Step 4: Sustain it by being genuinely interested

What are your thoughts about Social Interactions

now?

Isn’t networking actually fun and easy?

Reference:

Visit www.karthikselvaraj.com

for more posts.

Thank you!