People Divulge Their Go-To 'Small Talk' Topics With Strangers

Did you check the forecast?

"We sure are having a lot of weather"- r_Ju_Tacular.

​

"As a British person, the conversation usually starts like this:"

“'You alright?'"

”Yeah you?”'

“'Yeah not too bad, weathers a bit sh*t innit?'”

“'Yeah”'.

"The end."- chelstippins

Why beat around the bush?

"Straight to politics and religion."- Turd_Ferguson009.

Just let it happen.

"Make an observation."

"Literally anything."It helps if it’s something about them like an article of clothing that catches your eye, something they’re doing, anything that you can relate to or are interested in but it doesn’t have to be."

"It can be something in the environment that is drawing both of your attention."

"People bullsh*t about the weather all the time."

"Make a comment about it, gauge their willingness to talk about it to you and build off of what you get from the response."

"If all you get is 'haha yeah', leave it."

"No shame in silence."

"Some people just don’t want to talk."

I"f you’re talking about the weather, 'Man it’s a great day out today!'"

“'Yeah absolutely! I drove here with my windows down all the way here!'”

"Boom, you’ve got something to latch onto."

"They probably enjoy getting outside for some fresh air. "

"They probably enjoy driving."

"Ask about their car."

"Ask if they go on drives a lot."

"Ask if they do outdoor stuff."

"What kind of outdoor stuff?"

"Once you’ve got something to work with, the key is to ask."

"Let them do the talking."

"People love talking about themselves."

"You learn some light hearted things about the stranger, they feel more comfortable, and you can add bits and bobs of your own experiences in response so they get to know you too."

"It works in literally any situation."

"From an elevator ride to a first date."

"It’s so easy to personalize small talk and it makes it so much less uncomfortable."- 1arrocknroll.

"But enough about me, what do you think about me?"

"Usually people love to talk about themselves, so a few questions about them and some follow up questions to their answers usually does it."- I_can_see_the_music.

"Food, glorious food..."

" Food."

"People typically love food."

"I mention I’m new/newer to an area."

"And ask them what they like, where they eat out."

"Usually works and people have their choices validated and I always know where to find good local snacks."- TheProfWife.

Outer space.

"You hear about Pluto?... that's messed up right."- Papitorres.

Can you believe it?

"Did you see that ludicrous display last night?"- housemuncher.

Nothing!

"As a Norwegian - we leave strangers alone."

"No need to bother them."- neihuffda.

The sky's the limit.

"So, do you like stuff?"- Bwon669.

All of these seem like surefire ways to get a conversation started.

But use cautiously, as who knows how long it will take these conversations to end.