Making small talk can be very difficult especially with complete strangers or that person that you just want to impress, and even at work with your boss or those that work with you. The great thing about small talk is that it can be learned! It is great to know that you can benefit from this in many ways.

Small talk has been around since mankind has existed. It has always been something that people can do to “break the ice” so that you can get into better conversation later on, and really get to know somebody. It is important to build the trust barrier with someone through small talk. If you can gain trust then the person that you are speaking with will be willing to open up about themselves.

Reasons for Small Talk Small talk is used in all elements of society from meeting someone for the first time, to first dates, in family circles, and even in business. You have to know how to build that bridge of trust with a person. Making small talk can really help you build a good base of friends from all circles of life.

Confidence There are some fairly easy steps to making small talk. The first and biggest key to being able to make small talk is confidence. If you are confident and come across that way then you can create a bridge of trust just by your actions. Confidence in speaking to the other person will also help them know that you are interested in them as well. It is important that a person knows how much interest you have. Again nobody will care how much you know, unless they know how much you care, as the old adage goes.

Listening Another step to having great small talk is the ability to listen. If you are listening even the smallest and what seems most insignificant topic can be discussed in full and lead to great conversation. Listening and being able to respond in a way that shows you have some good input goes a long way. Listening is very important. You want to listen 60% and speak 40%. Also when you make small talk you want to have something to add to the conversation don’t just talk to talk. The key is getting the other person to open up more by adding more interest to the conversation.

So all in all it when it comes to making small talk the biggest steps are having confidence, listening, and making sure that you add something to the conversation. In society small talk has been around forever and is used many times over to help build those communication bridges.