Thursday, December 10, 2015

How To Use Small Talk to Talk to Masons

With the Grand Banquet coming up in the next few weeks, most of you may be worried about meeting new people. What do I say to someone I've never met before? Where do I start? Should I ask them about their families? Should I ask them about work? Maybe I'll just ask about the weather?

In our daily lives we run into situations in which we need quick conversations to avoid those awkward moments. We may be waiting in an elevator or meeting someone new. In the DeMolay world, you may be seated at a banquet table with a Masonic leader, public official or another dignitary who you have never met before. A fellow advisor led me to a website that lists 48 questions that can be asked in order to make small talk easier. Click on the link below to see the full list of questions.


Here are a few of my favorite questions from the article that will help with small talk:

Work
1. If you were guaranteed to be successful, what job would you want?
2. What is the best career advice that anyone has ever given you? 

Entertainment 
1. Are you reading any good books or watching any good shows? I'd like some recommendations.
2. If you could only watch one genre of movies, which would it be?

Travel
1. Where's the last place you traveled?
2. If you could take a vacation anywhere, where would you go? 

Life Story 
1. Who's the most important role model in your life? 
2. What's the best piece of advice you have ever received?

Totally Random
1. What's the strangest compliment you've ever gotten? 
2. If you could have any type of pet or animal, what would it be?

These are just a few of the 48 questions that can help stop the awkward conversations. Make your conversations a little bit more meaningful, by asking the right questions - and get to know the people around you. 

Until next time - "Dad" Joe Pullin   

  

2 comments:

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  2. You could always ask, "What is the air-speed of an unladen swallow?" But you'd better know the difference between the African and European variants.

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