• Be careful with business acquaintances. You wouldn’t want to open a conversation with: How’s your job at______? What if that person just got fired or laid off? Be careful when you’re asking about an acquaintance’s spouse or special friend; you could regret it. • Don’t act like you’re an FBI agent. Questions like What do you do?, Are you married?,

Here are a few tips business professionals can use to improve their small talk skills: • Be the first to say hello! • Introduce yourself. Act as if you’re the host and introduce new arrivals to your conversation partner or partners. • Smile first and always shake hands when you meet someone. • Take your time during introductions! Make an extra effo

a group of three or more look around in the hope that others will maintain eye contact on their behalf. Yet people don’t feel listened to if you’re not looking at them. • Get somebody to talk about why they’re attending the event. You are now on your way to engaging them in conversation. • Show an interest in every person. The more interest you sho

make a commitment to use at least four of them in your next conversation. If you’re afraid you won’t remember them, write them down, put them in your pocket, and refer to them before you to go into the event. If you go blank while you’re there, excuse yourself for a moment and walk into the restroom to take a peek at your list. The most famous and

Smile, ask questions, avoid complaining and sad topics, and have some entertaining stories ready to go. It’s all you need to be in the top 10 percent of all conversationalists.

We become better conversationalists when we employ two primary objectives. Number one: Take the risk. It is up to us to take the risk of starting a conversation with a stranger.