Small Talk

prevent pregnant pauses with preparation . 105
conversation. Interest in someone else cannot be feigned.
If you truly cannot muster any enthusiasm for the dialogue,
you owe it to your partner to excuse yourself and
make your way to another approachable person.
THE MARCH OF PROGRESS
You are well into this book. By now you’ve become
familiar with techniques to make you an excellent conversationalist.
It’s a good time to reflect on how far
you’ve come as you practice these skills and identify the
opportunities for improvement that lay before you. Take
the “Winning at Small Talk” quiz again and see if you’ve
made any improvement. Look yourself in the mirror and
respond with honest “yes” or “no” answers to the following
statements:
• I’m conscious of taking turns in conversations so
that I can find out about others and help them
get to know me.
• I have joined or participated in at least one club
or group activity in order to develop new
business or social friendships.