Party time: Tips for smoother small talk
Tis the season for office Christmas parties. Does the thought of mingling make your palms sweat -- especially at your spouse's office soiree where you likely know no one or anything about them or at least nothing you can say to their face? If you need help making small talk, the tips here are timeless despite the fact that I wrote this four years ago. I can talk to my colleague about anything EXCEPT work from 9-5, but we can’t seem to think of anything to talk about other than work when we go out to lunch. I have just enough social skill to know you shouldn’t talk about work at a party and I, like maybe some of you, worry about being engaging while mingling. But what I’ve learned is that the best small-talkers are engaged. They succeed by showing genuine interest in others. And they’ve likely done their homework before the event. See, by staying in a corner at a party or, worse, finding the TV and gluing yourself to the ballgame, you look like you don’t want to be there. A...