It's a conversation starter; an act that's both a surface-level kindness but also useful in the sense that it can let you direct the conversation to a topic tha

It's a conversation starter; an act that's both a surface-level kindness but also useful in the sense that it can let you direct the conversation to a topic that's been bothering you lately, and that they potentially have the resources of helping you with it. Soft skills are powerful if you know how to use them. :)