Communication: How to Speak Effectively and Improve Your Relationships, Listening, and Social Skills (Now with Bonus Chapters) (Public Speaking, Public ... For Beginners, Communication for Beginners) by Eric Davenport

Author:Eric Davenport [Davenport, Eric]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-10-14T18:30:00+00:00

The Art of Small Talk

Before you communicate with another individual, it is important to know who is listening. A great way to do that is to use small talk. These conversations happen all the time and are crucial to networking with others. It is important to be good at small talk because it allows you to foster relationships and build communities.

The first key to having a great time at a networking event is to set your expectations very low. If you come to an event expecting nothing more than a recommendation on where to go on vacation or what restaurant to eat in next, then you can relax. When you are relaxed, you are usually at your best.

Woody Morcott, owner of the Dana Corporation which does business in 29 different countries, stresses that it is important to dress so that you are approachable at networking events. Since he feels that many of his employees may be unwilling to approach him because of his position, he always wears a humorous tie to these events. The tie automatically gives people something to talk to him about. Once the conversation is started, then he is able to capitalize on the time spent with his employees and colleagues to hear what he has to tell him.

Sam Walton used a slightly different approach when he was starting Walmart and for many years later. When visiting his stores he always drove an old red pickup and usually wore an old baseball cap. He almost always wore a white short sleeve shirt. He did all this to make himself more approachable.

If you know the names of some of the people that will be at the networking event, then spend a little time ahead of the event finding out something about some of the people that will be there. There are many different places that you can find this information. One way is to just search their name and see what pops up about them. In this time, most people have a Linked-In account and that can be a great place to find out information. For example, you can see if you and the person have any friends in common or have attended any of the same universities. Likewise, you can mine their Facebook account for information. Doing all this helps you find things to talk about when you meet them.

Go into a networking event armed with information that you can talk about during the event. In particular, think about answers to common questions that you are likely to encounter such as how are you and how things are going. Preparing more than one word answers to these common questions ahead of time further allows you to relax. It also allows you to be more interesting and gives the person asking the question several choices on how they can follow up on your comments.

Come prepared to start a conversation with a declarative statement. When you open with a question, you may accidentally ask about the one topic that a person does not want to talk about.

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