On Wednesday, November 8th, I attended the Small Talk: It’s a BIG Deal workshop. The night before, I looked at the STARR Career workshop options for the first time to find out most of the events were already booked or did not fit into my schedule. Of all the workshops available, this one seemed the most interesting and so it was decided. I would attend this workshop after school the next day.
At the start of the workshop, the presenter made an extensive trip around the room, shaking the hands of and greeting every person in the room. She later asked us about the implications of this gesture, to which many people gave insightful responses. My biggest takeaway was that I should always be the first to go up to someone to say hello and introduce myself.
Speaking of which, there were 50 tips to making small talk in the packet all attendees were given and they really are useful! Included were small tips and reminders such as “Be able to succinctly tell others- in a few short sentences-what you do”, “Reintroduce yourself to someone who is likely to have forgotten your name” and “Let others play the expert”.
We conversed with each other throughout the workshop, talking about the assigned subject matter, and I found out that many people preferred not to make eye contact when in conversation with another.. well, that was something different.
As someone who has always struggled with starting conversations and keeping the ball rolling, I feel like I’ve learned a few more ways to tackle this problem after attending the small talk workshop.
^ Picture taken at the workshop. Opps. Missed Sophia
^ Above is a picture of the packet received at the workshop