The title may sound like biting sarcasm (and I almost wish it was), but Small Talk, Big Deal was the name of the career exploration workshop i attended on October 27, and there was no sarcasm intended. When I arrived at the room where the meeting was taking place, I was greeted by the lecturer, Wendy Heyman. She handed me some sheets with various information: a PowerPoint copy of the lecture, some worksheets, and a schedule of the parts of the lecture. 2 hours?!? I groaned. They’re not gonna make this stamp come easy, huh?
After about 20 or so people came in the room, the instructor started her lecture. She went over some stuff from part 1 of the lecture (which I did not attend), then dived into the basics of small talk. She told us to note how we (the students) were greeted by her and her assistant. I remembered the pleasant smile, the polite greeting, how Prof. Heyman introduced herself to me. That, she said, was the beginning of small talk, the conversation before the conversation. After some more lecturing, she let the group have some of the snacks that were laid out, under the condition that we introduce ourselves and attempt to make small talk. I’m horribly awkward, and don’t like talking. I preferred to keep quiet until someone talked to me, and if someone didn’t talk to me, it was no big deal to me. Luckily, I didn’t have to do much talking, as two people took the liberty of introducing themselves to me. I said hi, exchanged names and hands, then took some snacks.
As the lecture continued, the time seemed to fly by. Why small talk was important. A quiz on “schmoozing,” the art of making small talk (we all aced it). The advantages of making small talk. How to overcome negative attitudes to small talk. The flow of good small talk. Before long, the lecture was over, I got my precious 3rd stamp, and I was going home.
Despite my initial fears, I must admit that I really liked this workshop. The 2 hours seemed to fly by, I didn’t feel as if had missed out on anything by not attending part 1, and there were no crowds! I still hate making small talk, but at least now I know enough to fake it(until I make it)!
-Richardson Antoine