Making small talk

As a teacher I often need to make small talk with my students as we are either waiting for other students to arrive, or we have some time to kill. According to the Urban Dictionary, small talk is a "Useless and unnecessary conversation attempted to fill the silence in an awkward situation. Commonly backfires into feelings of loneliness and social discomfort". I can´t say that I agree with this definition as I find these talks often quite enjoyable and it gives me an opportunity to get to know my students better. 

My fellow teacher Luciano taught a class this week on small talk and he came across this funny video about the origin of small talk:

Here are some tips I found from this website about how to make small talk (more tips on the website!)

• Comment on a topic common to both of you at the moment: the food, the room, the occasion, the weather (yes, talking about the weather is a cliché, but it works). “How do you know our host?” “What brings you to this event?” However, keep it on the positive side! Unless you can be hilariously funny, the first time you meet a person isn’t a good time to complain.

• Comment on a topic of general interest. A friend scans Google News right before he goes anywhere where he needs to make small talk, so he can say, “Did you hear that Jeff Bezos is buying The Washington Post?” or whatever.

• Ask a question that people can answer as they please. My favorite question is: “What’s keeping you busy these days?” It’s useful because it allows people to choose their focus (work, volunteer, family, hobby, etc.). 

• Ask open questions that cannot be answered with a single word.

I hope you found these tips useful and don´t feel as uncomfortable next time you need to make small talk.

As I will not write again until after Christmas I´d like to take this opportunity to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Take care now!