Everybody likes to be a story teller, especially if it’s about some person or event you have in common. The problem is knowing what it is appropriate and when it’s not.
Just the other day I was at a personal appointment with my hairstylist. It wasn’t really my hairstylist but I’m going to use it to keep things confidential. As I sat in the chair, we were talking about places that I use to work. Then the subject of a certain employee from that company surfaced. The stylist just started talking about that person, nothing bad, just personal.
I was shocked to say the least. If he/she was willing to talk about this person and what transpired in their appointment who knows what is said about mine. Not to mention, the stylist had no idea why I stopped working there and whether or not my employment ended on good or bad terms.
In any business it is poor manors to talk about other clients whether it’s good or bad. Understandably it can get pretty rough talking about the weather with every client, every day. If you’re one of those people that are terrible at coming up with good conversation I came up with a list of appropriate topics that are safe to use.
- Favorite songs/albums.
- Favorite movies/TV-shows.
- The nastiest tasting piece of candy/food you have eaten.
- The best vacation ever vs. the worst one.
If you’re feeling inspired you could always use it for a survey to place in your office for other clients to start a conversation with.
