There’s nothing like the holiday season to get people worried about their conversation skills. You’d be amazed at how many questions I get peppered with:
“I’m a total introvert – how can I start a conversation at the corporate party next week?”
“I want to look good in front of my boss. I probably shouldn’t just talk about the weather, right?”
“How will I make it through Christmas without shoving a whole turkey down Uncle Bob’s throat when he starts ranting on about the Deep State?”
This subject is so popular that I recently had the pleasure of being a guest on TWO different shows about this very subject!
1: How to Make Small Talk Like A Pro – the Confident Communication Podcast
The delightful Molly McPherson had me back on her podcast to do a deep dive into small talk conundrums. In this episode, we cover everything from starting conversations, to dealing with follow up conversations and awkward pauses, to how to end a conversation when you’re trapped beside someone on an airplane. Truly, if it involves having spontaneous face-to-face conversations, we talked about it.
This is an especially good episode for downloading via your favourite podcast service and listening to on your commute (possibly your commute to the party in question).
Listen in your browser on the podcast episode website
2: Making Effortless Small Talk – A Quick Just-In-Time Guide
CTV Morning Live in Edmonton invited me back to their studio for a survival guide to holiday party small talk. In this fast-and-festive video, we hit on the basic must-knows of small talk so that you can navigate your next corporate or family party with more ease. Here’s a hint: don’t overthink it! You can watch via the embedded video above or click here to watch directly on YouTube.
Now go and be fabulously conversable!
