Currently I work remotely as my new company is just starting, and it will be another year or ​so before it can have an office headquarters. Sometimes I work at cafes but they are often ​too noisy for my tastes. At home base, I am able to work more hours uninterrupted.

However, I miss going to the office and feeling the energy of others around me. The change in ​my physical environment made a direct impact on my productivity. I know many of my peers / ​friends prefer to work from home because they feel more productive working from home in ​their gym clothes - I get that.

But what used to be a government ordinance (stay-at-home) became for many an option (the ​office is ready when you are) and now for some a requirement (come back to the office - the ​pandemic is over).

So interacting with others in an office environment is now and will continue to be a thing. Funny ​enough, despite how much I enjoyed going to the office, I usually just kept to myself. I would say ​the friendly hello, how’s it going? or did you have a good weekend? Pretty much standard ​greetings which could be responded with as little as an affirmative nod and smile.

I don’t think of myself as an introvert, not entirely anyway, and I’m not shy but I do very much ​put my nose to the grindstone when at work. Though, in group settings I can converse with ease ​if it’s directly related to my job. I prepare when I need to present my work and field relevant ​questions; and I’m curious enough to ask relevant questions if someone else is speaking about ​a topic that concerns my team or role.

The issue would present itself when I met someone at the water cooler or other non-work ​scenario in which we’re not talking about a project or company initiative. For the most part, my ​past coworkers were not necessarily off putting or weird. I just really didn’t know what to talk ​about.

And then I realized they're just people coming to work as well and probably enjoy casual chit ​chat as much as the next person. So I tried out some topics as fun and/or as silly as:

1. What do you think is the best invention of modern times? Mine is the roomba.
   
2. If you could automate one thing in your house, what would it be?
   
3. Is a slice of pizza considered a snack or a meal?
   

After they respond, you don’t have to pivot the conversation to work. These conversations are ​typically short - some as short as question, answer and mutual smiles. If the conversations go ​beyond that, the other person is likely to ask you something or compliment you on bringing up ​a fun topic. Remember, you’re both still at the office and will likely have to go back to emails or ​whatever.

If however, you are at a company outing or happy hour, the above conversation starters still ​work. If for some reason, the conversation seems to go dead, you can say another conversation ​starter or wait a moment or two and see if they ask you something. And if you’re lucky, you may ​click with the other person (not romantically per se but as friends) and want to hang out outside ​of work.

Regardless of how you start a conversation, remember we all can benefit from positive in-​person social interactions!

*If by chance you’re having issues starting a conversation in a different social setting, here are ​some other icebreakers you can try out.

Back to Blog