Water Cooler Conversation

Small Talk & Quick Coffees

It’s 10 AM. You’ve been hunkered in your cubicle nursing a cold cup of coffee since 8:00 AM. It’s time for a refill. You head down to the café on the main floor, and you run into Ahmed. He’s a project manager you want to impress. Oh no! What should you do?

Water cooler conversation. You encounter a colleague at the water cooler or coffee machine. Or, you see them in a small meeting. How (when and why) do you connect? What should you say?

This is more than small talk. It is strategic. And none of these conversations should be random. What can you do to maximize the opportunity? How do you “keep it real” and build a professional dialogue?

What about outside of the workplace?

Is there such thing as an virtual water cooler? Yes! I’ll explain what it is and what you can do.