What’s your perspective on “small talk” (catching up on personal details when conducting business)?

Our reader poll today asks: What’s your perspective on “small talk” (catching up on personal details when conducting business)?

• I love it: it gives me a chance to connect on a personal level: 37%
• It’s OK: I enjoy it, but it does have its limits: 49%
• I’m not a fan: I don’t have time to spend on it: 9%
• I hate it: Stick to business, please: 4%

Small talk has its limits. Clearly a large portion of respondents like small talk for connecting on a personal level but do note, it does have its limits. After a certain point, business must move on. If you’re one of those folks in the 13% who don’t like it, consider trying it and connecting at least a little bit with team members and colleagues and many of them do value it. If you find yourself to be a bit of a talker, monitor your audience for those nonverbal cues that it’s time to wrap it up and move on to business. A large portion of folks tire of it after a certain point. Bottom line: small talk matters because relationships matter but you have to keep the amount of small talk within reason.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

Did you enjoy this post?  If so, I highly encourage you to take about 30 seconds to become a regular subscriber to this blog.  It’s free, fun, practical, and only a few emails a week (I promise!).  SIGN UP HERE to get the thoughtLEADERS blog conveniently delivered right to your inbox!

These results were originally a SmartPulse poll in SmartBrief on Leadership which tracks feedback from more than 240,000 business leaders. Get smarter on leadership and sign up for the SmartBrief on Leadership e-newsletter.