1. Small Talk This whole lesson is based around two ideas:
Small Talk is important for building relationships
Good Small Talkers start with Small Talk and then transition quickly to more important and interesting topics Bad Sam Talkers stay on Small Talk for too long; making the conversation uncomfortable and boring
This lesson practices the skills necessary to get good and Small Talk

2. Funny Small Talk Videos Examples of Small Talk
Good Small Talk Vs. …well…Not so Good
Funny Small Talk Videos
Examples of Small Talk
Business Insider – How to Small Talk
Buzzfeed – Signs You’re Bad at Small Talk
BBC Brit – Socially Awkward Situations
This is a resources page to give them some examples of Small Talk.
The videos on the left are all short videos. Business Insider – A bit serious with some basic tips
Buzzfeed & BBC – Funny videos about how silly Small Talk is
TED – This is a longer talk about how to make Small Talk better
Examples of Small Talk – Websites with Small Talk Topics
Breaking the Habit of Small Talk

3. In Partners ACTIVITY – Small Talk Joust Small Talk
Each of you choose a topic from the list on the website
Engage in Small Talk, but don’t start with your topic
Talk for 5-7 minutes
Each of you will try to “pull” the conversation towards your topic
A quick activity to get them warmed up before you start into the “theory of making Small Talk better”
The topic list is the ones from the previous slide Examples of Small Talk lists.
VARIATION FOR LOWER LEVELS
If they’re not very confident, you can have them do this first in their native language then you can talk about it afterwards in English. The following class you should try it again, but this time in English.

4. 1. You Have No Idea Where It Will Go Build Rapport / Relationships
Small Talk
No…really…it actually can be important
1. You Have No Idea Where It Will Go
2. It Makes You Smarter
Brett Nelson
Forbes Executive Editor
3. It Feels Good
4. It Opens Your Eyes
5. You’ll Be Liked
Build Rapport / Relationships
The purpose of this slide is to explain to them why Small Talk is important to learn.
It’s important because if you go directly to asking for something from people, you won’t get a good reaction. That’s why Number 5 is highlighted afterwards, because you need Small Talk skills to be liked.
You should also explain that Small Talk doesn’t mean you stay on Small Talk topics for 20 minutes.
The purpose of Small Talk is to start with a shared experience, build a little bit of rapport, and then transition to a more interesting and important topic.
6. You Have No Choice
Source:

5. ACTIVITY: The Idea of a Lifetime
Small Talk
ACTIVITY: The Idea of a Lifetime
Examples:
New Meeting Process
New Software
Team Building Activities
Free Lunch Program
1. Choose an Idea You’d Like to Implement at Work or elsewhere
2. Get a Partner
Examples:
Your boss’s boss
CEO of a company
Journalist
Charity worker
Engineer
3. Your Partner is the EXACT person who can help you implement your idea (but you don’t know them)
4. Start with Small Talk Build Rapport
Transition into Your Idea

6. Listen & Ask Questions Monitor Your Thoughts
Small Talk
Questions Questions Questions
Listen & Ask Questions
Listen Listen for things you can ask deeper questions about
Open-Ended Questions Ask questions that are not Yes/No Questions
Monitor Your Thoughts
Are you thinking of a statement or question? Try to ask more questions than make statements. You’ll learn a lot more
You can choose to play the YouTube video if you’d like. It’s an Ellen Show opening monologue about Small Talk. It gives some good, funny examples of bad Small Talk.
Once you’ve watched the video, have a quick discussion about asking questions in a conversation.
This makes you, not only good at Small Talk, but also a better conversationalist in general.
Ellen – Small Talk

7. In Partners ACTIVITY – Just like Socrates Small Talk
Choose a Small Talk topic to start with
Partner 1 can only use questions in the conversation No statements
Chat for a couple minutes
Switch roles
Sports
Travel
Movies
Celebrity Gossip
Weather
Hobbies
News
Hometown
Family
Food and Drink
Work
Pets

8. Taboo Topics Go Back, Steer Clear, Get Away, Vacate the Premises!!!
Small Talk
Go Back, Steer Clear, Get Away, Vacate the Premises!!!
Taboo Topics
Probably best not to talk about these with people you don’t know
Personal Finances
Age
Politics
Appearance
Religion
Personal Gossip
Sex
Offensive Jokes
Death
Past Relationships

9. In Partners ACTIVITY – Taboo Dialogue Small Talk
Each Partner Choose a celebrity who they will be in the dialogue
Choose a taboo topic to talk about
Take turns writing as your celebrity
Write a dialogue with what you think they’d say when having a taboo conversation
Personal Finances
Age
Politics
Appearance
Religion
Personal Gossip
Sex
Offensive Jokes
Death
Past Relationships