How to get better at small talk (and even enjoy it)

10 MINUTES

Small talk is an art, not a triviality. Here’s how you can master it

Small talk – those fleeting conversations with someone you don’t know well, or are meeting for the first time – is few people’s favourite thing, and many people’s least favourite thing. But, as Matt Abrahams, an author and lecturer in organisational behaviour at Stanford University, argues in this video, there are some simple strategies to help you transform small talk into an opportunity to connect, learn and grow. Opening a toolbox of practical tips intended for the gregarious and the small talk-averse alike, Abrahams offers some useful advice for getting more out of your lift rides, parties and business conferences – including how to avoid an awkward ending and how to find a graceful way out.

Video by the Harvard Business Review

Director: Erik Scanlon

Producer: Scott LaPierre

Explore more

A woman drawing on an easel in a courtyard with greenery and a modern glass building in the background.

To become more attuned to the world around you, try sketching outdoors

Video by The Museum of Modern Art

Surreal photo of a person wearing glasses and a hat with their face distorted, leaning towards a camera in a hallway.

This sculptor finds deep weirdness – not divinity – in the human form

Directed by Ben Berman

Sketch of a bathroom with a vanity unit and mirror. An illustrated nude woman stands in the centre, reflected in the mirror.

A woman summons a stoic calm after accidentally trapping herself in a shower

A film by Tom Schroeder

Silhouette of person standing before an orange light, creating a glowing halo effect on a neutral background.

Toxic materials become sculptures of light and air in this artist’s hands

Directed by Anika Kan Grevstad

Still image from a VHS tape depicting child and a woman blowing out birthday cake candles together, both wearing red, with people in the background.

Love is no simple thing for a mother and the daughter she raised alone

Directed by Ellie Wen

A hand-drawn pie chart titled “Why I Do Not Read Lips,” with segments like “Honey, it’s not game night – no charades please,” “Too much eye contact, I have my limits,” and “Olive juice my ass.”

This artist’s clever work moves Deaf culture from the margins to centre stage

Directed by Chiemi Karasawa

Close-up of a green parrot with a red forehead and white around its eyes, looking directly at the camera.

The search for life beyond Earth is peculiar, from a parrot’s perspective

Directed by Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla

A Chinese woman with long hair wearing a white top and pink skirt with arms outstretched against a backdrop of mountains and sky.

China’s young people who trade parties for peace at a mountainside hermitage

Directed by Ellen Xu