Small talk can feel pointless if you come from a culture where people get straight to business or only chat with close friends. In American offices, it’s how trust gets built. The coworker you chatted with about basketball is the one who’ll help when your project gets stuck.
Safe topics
- Weekend plans and what you did
- Food, restaurants and cooking
- Travel, past or planned
- Local sports teams
- Shows, podcasts and books
- Pets
- Light, positive comments about work
Topics to save for later, or skip
- Salary and money
- Politics and religion
- Age, weight or appearance
- Relationships, marriage and children, unless they bring it up
- Complaints about your manager
“How are you?”
When someone asks this while walking past, they expect “Good, thanks. You?” and they’ll keep walking. It’s the same as saying hello. Save the honest answer for people you know well or a proper coffee chat.
How to leave a conversation
“Great catching up, I need to get back to something” is perfectly polite. So is “I’ll let you get back to it.” Nobody expects a long goodbye.
