4 ms·

Some great advice! Getting into a routine of going to the same place seems like a real winner to me. Mastering small talk in England is incredibly easy. If t

Some great advice! Getting into a routine of going to the same place seems like a real winner to me. Mastering small talk in England is incredibly easy. If the weather is inclement, talk about the weather. If the weather is clement, talk about the weather. If you get bored talking about the weather, talk about football (particularly apt right now). If you know nothing about football, either watch enough that you can pontificate about the off-side rule, or go back to talking about the weather. If you're in London, you can often substitute complaining about public transport for the weather or football.

oalders 12y ago
Indeed. Every 4 years it feels like you can talk to pretty much anyone about football. At least that's how it seems in Canada. The good thing about living in a country which almost never qualifies for the finals is that there are lots of different teams to chat about. This year the good news is you don't even need to know much about football in order to have an opinion on Goal-line technology. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goal-line_technology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goal-line_technology
- dublinben 12y ago
  N.B. this advice does not apply in the US. If you ask a random person about football or the world cup, they'll probably be dumbfounded and think you're a weird foreigner.
  - w0utert 12y ago
    Which instantly expands the topic and provides you with other things to chat about, which was exactly the point ;-) I would qualify myself as slightly introvert but adequately sociable (I value my 'alone time' but I'm very easy around people as well), and personally I think smalltalk is the easiest part of making friends, there's an infinite amount of things you can talk about. Just start out with lighthearted topics, don't overthink the situation (it's just chit-chat), try to tease and joke a little, and probably the best advice for geeks: forget about talking about nerdy stuff like sci-fi, games, computers etc. Most people (especially girls) have no affinity with them, know nothing about them, and might get the impression you are stuck in your own world if they are the only thing you can come up with. The things that are really important or interesting to you will come up some time later, they usually don't make for good 'get to know each other' conversation.
jenrzzz 12y ago
"Did you see that ludicrous display last night?"
- tripzilch 12y ago
  Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWJIQm9qH-w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWJIQm9qH-w (for people that don't know IT Crowd, go watch it, it's excellent, and not that many episodes were made)

oalders 12y ago

Indeed. Every 4 years it feels like you can talk to pretty much anyone about football. At least that's how it seems in Canada. The good thing about living in a country which almost never qualifies for the finals is that there are lots of different teams to chat about. This year the good news is you don't even need to know much about football in order to have an opinion on Goal-line technology. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goal-line_technology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goal-line_technology

dublinben 12y ago
N.B. this advice does not apply in the US. If you ask a random person about football or the world cup, they'll probably be dumbfounded and think you're a weird foreigner.
- w0utert 12y ago
  Which instantly expands the topic and provides you with other things to chat about, which was exactly the point ;-) I would qualify myself as slightly introvert but adequately sociable (I value my 'alone time' but I'm very easy around people as well), and personally I think smalltalk is the easiest part of making friends, there's an infinite amount of things you can talk about. Just start out with lighthearted topics, don't overthink the situation (it's just chit-chat), try to tease and joke a little, and probably the best advice for geeks: forget about talking about nerdy stuff like sci-fi, games, computers etc. Most people (especially girls) have no affinity with them, know nothing about them, and might get the impression you are stuck in your own world if they are the only thing you can come up with. The things that are really important or interesting to you will come up some time later, they usually don't make for good 'get to know each other' conversation.

jenrzzz 12y ago

"Did you see that ludicrous display last night?"

tripzilch 12y ago
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWJIQm9qH-w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWJIQm9qH-w (for people that don't know IT Crowd, go watch it, it's excellent, and not that many episodes were made)