Better Small Talk: Three Things to Do Before Your Next Networking Event

“Crazy weather today, huh?”

“Can you believe the traffic coming in?”

“Is this your first time at the conference?”

Small talk can lead to big impact. What if the person who changes your career is someone you meet by asking one good question at a networking event?

That’s what Emily Rosado-Solomon, associate professor of management, and podcast host Kara Baskin discuss in the Season 3 premiere of “From Problems to Possibilities: Entrepreneurial Leadership in Action.”

Relationships and personal connections with peers, co-workers, and employees are central to entrepreneurial leadership. In the episode, “How to Make Small Talk and Advance Your Career,” here are three things Rosado-Solomon shares that entrepreneurial leaders can do to improve small talk before their next networking event.  

1. Broaden your view of small talk

“If you’re only having small talk with (a) recruiter, you’re missing the point. Have small talk also with the people in your dorm or the people at the cafeteria or your professors. All of these people are worth connecting with.”

2. Find your personal small talk style

“Two of my grandparents are my entrepreneurial leadership role models. And what’s interesting is they’re incredibly different in terms of their businesses, but also their small talk styles. … They were both really effective at building and maintaining connections. And they both ended up having that as a key component … of their success in entrepreneurial leadership.”

3. Figure out your surroundings and adjust accordingly

“If you were coming in all high energy and you look at the people and they are not all high energy, don’t stick to what your original plan was. Adjust a little bit, tone it down, take a deep breath. Looking for those social cues, and particularly when we’re in person, looking for body language, looking for nonverbal cues about how the other person is doing. And if you don’t get a good response from somebody, don’t keep going down the same line of conversation. Either pivot or exit the conversation gracefully. And that is much better than prolonging a bad small talk interaction.”

The full episode is available on Apple, Spotify, and Amazon, and you can listen below: