How to not suck at small talk even if you think small talk sucks

Not everyone is a talkative, especially in new context. While one may be curious about whom the other people in the room are, not everyone feels inclined to step out and investigate. The drawback with that is it makes you look antisocial and could attract unwanted attention, the one thing you may be trying to avoid. It doesn't matter if your job is dull and works in a department in the ICBC claim Vancouver based office. If you're looking to be better at approaching and talking to new people even if it's the last thing you'd wish to do, here are a few tricks you can try.

Start with a statement

One of the fastest ways to engage a person is by evoking positive emotions from them. That requires charm, but not that we see depicted in movies of the stereotypical sociopath. Charm here means starting off a conversation with a positive remark, or a compliment, about the other person. It could be an item of clothing or something you heard them say or of a particular thing you do. That requires a careful but subtle observation of the other person- you don't want to come across as a creep. When you approach them (with a smile) and pay them a genuine complement that makes them open to hearing what is said. As a rule of thumb, if you're genuine, you won't have to feel or appear to be a fake.

Follow up with a question and your thoughts

Assuming they respond because they are socially conscious people, follow up with a question about they why, where and what of the compliment you paid and let it flow from there. Make your questions as open ended as possible to make sure you don't get a one worded response. Include your intention or why you're interested in that line of thought, for example, "I'm asking about your suit because in a Diamond and Diamond Lawyers poster I saw they were wearing equally sharp and expensive looking suits and wondered who their tailor was…" and if they don't know who that is, then there's more to talk about. It's crucial to add input to avoid looking like a private investigator. It also allows people to weigh in on your opinions.

Get selectively personal

Here, with everything going on from a political, cultural, social, economic (everything else) perspective, there is a lot of personal questions to ask. The word 'selective' here is not asking someone what they do. That pigeonholes people and, without intending to, makes you bias toward them. Never ask what they do, if they volunteer, that's great, but don't be the one to ask.