Fortunately, for those who need a little help coming up with subjects to discuss with strangers and acquaintances, The Happiness Project has a great list of potential conversation topics you might consider using. Personally, I suggest doing whatever you can to avoid the cliche “weather” opening just because it usually results in a short, frantic conversation about the heat or cold you’re experiencing followed by a dead silence where you both try to think of a new topic or something else to say about the weather, but other than that, the list is pretty dead-on. A Menu of Options for Making Small Talk | The Happiness Project 2. Comment on a topic of general interest. 3. Ask a question that people can answer as they please. 4. Ask open questions that can’t be answered with a single word. 5. If you do ask a question that can be answered in a single word, instead of just supplying your own information in response, ask a follow-up question. 6. Ask getting-to-know-you questions. 7. React to what a person says in the spirit in which that that comment was offered. 8. Be slightly inappropriate. 9. Follow someone’s conversational lead. 10. Along the same lines, counter-intuitively, don’t try to talk about your favorite topic, because you’ll be tempted to talk too much.
