[Or insert whoever your current and favorite talk show host is.]
Guess what? Small talk is a talk show host’s entire job! His or her sole purpose is to engage the guest and drive a conversation along, and often make something from nothing. On top of it, the conversation must be funny, witty, and charming at the same time! Sounds exhausting.
But even the Jay Lenos of the world have a very simple mindset trick to keep their small talk engaging and charming. Ready for it?
Be completely fascinated. Their guest is the center of their world, and they want to learn everything there is about them. They dig deep into topics, and are insatiable for stories about their lives. And once they hear them, they react hugely, positively, and in a way that makes the guest want to continue talking. The entire focus for an intense 15 minutes is to learn as much about the guest as possible, while also bringing up positive points to make them seem human, relatable, charming, and hip.
It’s really just an enthusiasm for learning about other people’s lives, which we don’t really ever do. Think about it, when’s the last time you really asked about someone’s life and cared? We are far more likely to wait for our turns to talk and barely acknowledge what other people say.
If you find yourself doing that… Just think WWJD.