27
votes
Small talk, ice breakers, lines
Inspired by the really serious topic what's your line I wonder what "lines" you have for small talk, ice breakers or to just pass some time.
My favourite "line" is:
What do you think about raisins?
or (replying to things like "what do you do for a living?"):
Eh, that's not really interesting, but what do you think about raisins?
I like it because it's quite dumb, but lots of people of all ages have some experience with and opinion about raisins so it is easy to talk about.
And with some luck you get plunged into a heated debate about raisins as candy substitute, raisins in bread or even hot raisins in food!
I always just ask about something they are wearing and/or have on them. I'm sure that's because of my sales background. That's like, sales 101. But it also always works. Anything that gets someone to talk about themselves is usually good.
If people have kids, ask them about their kids. Most people will talk about their kids for as long as you need them to.
(note: as a parent, a significant proportion of the new people I meet are other parents so it's a fairly reliable topic to ask about but obviously this won't work if you're starting university or something)
"Name a food which doesn't go with cheese?" was quite a good one in the past. There's a cheese for almost every occasion, sweet or savoury.
I like pickled raisins.
This is the most fascinating thing I've heard all year! Tell me everything!!!!!
How? Like how do you eat them? Like cookies from the cookie jar? Like pickled onions on a burger?
Well, but I'd rather talk to their kids about them as I prefer asking people about their parents if I can't come up with anything besides family.
Off topic
When I first read the title of the original, I thought of the line I like to throw out there randomly; "you like to see homos naked, that's cool.". From Joe Dirt
So, do you like ...stuff?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xjxoFcR1WrY
or my fav:
Do you like... bread?
To which I would reply, "yeah, but the midterms are hard."
Well, I don't like raisins much. I don't like them in sweet baked food, I don't like them as substitute, I don't like them in a cake... It seems like I don't like them at all, but that would be wrong! I like them in my muesli (müsli) where they add up at least some sugar to the mix.
No, what do YOU think about raisins?
What do you like more in your muesli?
(Btw... anyone has a good recommendation for a FOSS keyboard for android phones? I miss being able to type all the letters)?
Floris Board is my recommendation, I still move to gboard occasionally but mostly use it.
I like "What do you do?". When they inevitably respond with their job, I respond with "No, what do you do?". It makes people start thinking of themselves as more than just a job, and I can usually get more fun answers.
What is your favourite kind of soap? Seems really random, but most people actually have one. Plus, some times people's favourite soap is tied to a specific memory so they end up sharing about that as well
I like this, and there is a non zero chance the people I'd ask would assume I'm trying to insinuate that they smell bad!
There is nothing like a little light confrontation based on a misunderstanding to get things started :D
I interact with a lot of people in my work days, and during down time get to make a lot of small talk. Outside of my usual go-to's like "Any plans for the weekend?" or "What's the plan for the evening?" I'll sometimes spice it up with some less plain questions, usually about a topic of discussion already being had with coworkers. Some recent favorites include:
-Do you believe in Bigfoot? Do you believe in the Lochness Monster? ( I live in the southeast US, and a lot of people said yes to Bigfoot and no to Lochness. Non locals were more likely to say no to both. All anecdotal evidence ofc.)
-Would you rather see Pitbull live or Limp Bizkit live? (an astonishing amount of people said Limp Bizkit, I could hardly believe my ears.)
-Are burgers a sandwich? (Again, an astonishing amount of people said no, burgers are burgers and sandwiches are their own separate category.)
-If you could see any band live, whether currently touring or disbanded, what would it be and why?
I find questions like these are great at getting people to talk about themselves and open up to further conversations. Personally I view small talk as quick way to establish common ground so we can dig into the more interesting things, and never really understand why it's so despised.
Enjoyed this thread, don't have anything major to add other than normally asking something about pets/kids depending obviously, works well and boringly safe. Pets tend to have a better response but that could be a coincidence.