How To Talk to Strangers: The Art of Small Talk

image courtesy Marc Wathieu
3ea16ffb seeable

Taught by Julia Levy

Julia Levy is the Founder of Side Project Studios, a coaching and consulting firm championing ideas into action. She fell in love with side projects over a decade ago and shared why at TEDxEmory in 2019. The Brooklyn Brainery helped her discover her passion for side projects as a student and teacher. Her projects have been featured in Forbes, Inside Edition, Huffington Post and The Atlanta Journal Constitution. She's produced and performed in a comedy show at the People’s Improv Theater in New York City and built community for the Communications Network. Currently, she’s building Tradition Kitchens to transform kitchens into classrooms, Peach and Prosperity to produce a podcast with stories of Georgia and National Muffin Day to foster a philanthropic food holiday helping people experiencing homelessness. Her career has been in philanthropy as a fundraiser and communications professional. Learn more about her at juliamlevy.com. 

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Picture yourself in one of these scenes: walking into a crowded room with strangers conversing in clumps, meeting a potential new client at a networking event or attending a conference with a sea of unfamiliar faces. How do you artfully say hello, discover common interests (besides the weather) and exit gracefully? 

In this class, we'll travel through the flow of conversation in order to master the art of small talk. We'll simulate the scenes above and examine case studies generated by your classmates. Recommendations from experts like Keith Ferrazzi, author of "Never Eat Alone" to blogs like The Daily Muse will also be incorporated. 

You'll leave with a tool kit to talking, including a list of conversation starters and body language cues. Who knows... you might even strike up a conversation with a stranger on the subway ride home. 

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