A College Student’s Guide to Making Small Talk

How to Make Small Talk:

The idea of it makes people cringe. Everyone loves to complain about having to make small talk. But here the thing, if you find it ingenuine or forced, you are doing it wrong.

You don’t have to talk about the weather or the Super Bowl score, in fact, unless both of you are sports junkies talking about the Super Bowl will not advance the conversation. It’s okay to talk about whatever suits your fancy. If they mention that they went on a bike ride today and you happen to be a cyclist, talk about biking. You don’t have to spend every minute trying to mention something off of your resume. It’s a lot better to have a conversation that mutually enjoyable than one where you try and sell yourself the whole time.

But if you are stuck for conversation, here’s a simple trick to find a conversation starter. Just remember FORD. Four simple topics that will open a Pandora’s box to discuss.

• • • Family
    • Occupation
    • Recreation
    • Dreams

You don’t need to have a set of questions saved for every possible situation. When in doubt revert to one of these topics and you will have good kindling to base a conversation on.

Still too complicated? I’ll make it simpler. All you need to do is ask why. If the recruiter is talking about how they work in product design, ask why they chose to get into that field. If they say they studied design in college, ask them why they were interested in design or why they chose the school they did? Within a few iterations, you will quickly hit a common point that you can chime in about. Remember, people love talking about themselves, let them have their moment because when it comes time they’ll remember you more fondly than the other candidates who take every chance they get to slip in a humble brag.