This week our guest is Debra Fine, author, speaker, and guru of all things small talk. Debra began her career as a highly analytical engineer, an occupation that allowed her to maintain her natural shyness and avoid situations that required social interactions. But, seeing how others’ speaking abilities allowed them to flourish, Debra decided she was tired of being shy, and decided to research strategies for starting conversations, keeping them going, remembering names, practicing “active listening”, exiting with grace, and generally making a positive impression on she’s speaking to. All of her discoveries and strategies made their way into her book, The Fine Art of Small Talk, a handy tool for anyone from business executives, PTA parents, students facing post-college interviews, or singles trying to make love connections. 

Tune in to learn how you can have what Debra calls “better” small talk, especially the moments that can get really awkward, like when you want to leave a conversation or change the subject gracefully. And, learn to recognize queues from other people when they’re trying to do the same thing. We also get into how to be a better networker, and do it in a way that’s actually enjoyable and doesn’t feel like work. For those that are around teenagers a lot, she has some awesome tips to ask better questions to get them talking to you. Above all else, Debra teaches us why we should take the risk of meeting new people.

Whether it’s a party, a networking event, or just entertaining friends and family, we all engage in small talk. Here on Wellness 3.0 we talk a lot about how to connect with others on a deeper level, but it’s also important to improve your ability to connect with others on a surface level, too.