Small Talk

let’s give ’em something to talk about . 63
that I knew there were two classrooms on that floor. Since
the man had not been in my class, it was a pretty good
guess that he’d come from the other. I asked him, Were
you here for a class? He told me he’d attended a bookwriting
class. It turns out that I was speaking with Harry
MacLean, best-selling author and teacher of the course.
We continued our conversation outside of the elevator,
and I now have a new friend. He even agreed to speak to
my book club about his most recent book, Once Upon a
Time. One of the reasons I love small talk is that you just
never know who you’ll meet or where it’ll lead.
Behavior. If you are observant, you’ll get a lot of free
information from people’s behavior. The way they speak
and write can offer you small talk starters. Notice if they
are left-handed. You can inquire, Is it challenging being
left-handed? What pet peeves do you have about it? Does the
person have an accent? If so, you might say, I thought I
heard an accent. What part of the country/world are you from?
or What brought you here? or What do you miss the most about
where you are from? or What do you enjoy about your new
home?
I entered my local FedEx office with efficiency in
mind—after all, that’s why I’m there. I want to get in