Water Cooler Talk
Not all your conversations are going to revolve around work and work-related items. Many times, as you relax and build personal relationships with your coworkers and clients, the topics will swing to non-work-related conversations. Connecting at a personal level is vital to your success in your career and is encouraged. There are a few important items to remember when this is occurring during work hours:
- Don’t go overboard on time. Remember you are billing by the hour. Try to keep these conversations quick and light and not drag out for more than 10 minutes. If you get caught with a long-winded talker, just politely check your watch and let them know you have an important item to get back to and will catch up with them after-hours.
- There is no need to be an expert in everything. You may not be a big football fan or a fan of a particular TV show. There is no need to pretend just to fit in, this is not high school. If there is a conversation topic you are not familiar with, ask questions to get involved. Who knows, this may be the start of discovering something new to do in your spare time.
- Avoid conversations about politics and religion. The workplace is not a safe place for these as many people can have very strong and opposing opinions that differ from yours and can make for uncomfortable situations. It is best to excuse yourself or remain silent if someone is trying to draw you into a conversation around these topics.
- You will need to have a good level of self-awareness when discussing personal topics. Asking about someone’s pregnancy or family, health is usually not a first day kind of conversation and takes time to build up a good personal relationship where this would be considered fair conversation. If you have to ask yourself, “I wonder if this would offend him/her,” then it’s best to play it safe and say nothing at all.
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