Small talk may be the most maligned category of conversation. For many, it's a time-waster with no redeeming qualities other than mindless chatter. Yet, when properly understood and applied, small ...

A quick back and forth with the cashier at the grocery store. A friendly hello to someone on the elevator. A laugh with a taxi driver. These are all examples of "small talk." Some of us live for small ...

Creating conversations is how we create relationships, so where would our conversations at work, networking events, or elsewhere be without small talk? Would we have found our best friend, special ...

You walk into the conference networking event, feeling alone, aware of the steady chatter throughout the room. You look to find someone you might know, you sense your breath growing faster and you ...

What goes through your mind when you’re invited to a party or networking event where you don’t know anyone, or when just you and a colleague both get to the Monday morning meeting five minutes early?

Sure, questions like What do you do? and Where do you live? are almost necessary to get some conversational momentum. But how many of us are willing to go deeper? How many of us can say we are adept ...

How good are you at making small talk? When you’re in the middle of a chance encounter with someone, does every possible thing to say go flying out of your head? Or do you believe that small talk is ...

For some people, having to make small talk is a uniquely horrifying mode of torment. If this is true for you, it’s likely that you can recall in grim detail your last attempts to find a way to make ...