Let's get down to it -- small talk. Some people love it, some people hate it. Some people who love it are terrible at it while some people who hate it are amazing at it. By using the four key ideas below, you will become a professional small talker (and if not, you spent five minutes out of 1,440 minutes of your day reading this -- get over it).

1. Weather

"Hello, [person]! How are you doing today?"

"Pretty well, and yourself?"

"I'm good, thank you."

You know, last week if we were having this conversation, we would be carrying our umbrellas waiting for the rain that never came.

Talking about weather now.

If you live someplace like upstate New York where it snows one day, is 80 degrees the next and then is -2 degrees the day after, weather is a pretty common topic to discuss in small talk. If you haven't been paying attention to the current weather, our winters here have been colder than the holiday months in Alaska the last few years (I've checked -- several times).

2. Their kids (or animals, parents, siblings, cousins, or their friendly spiders that take shelter in their homes)

"Oh hi, [person]!"

"Oh hello, how are you doing, [person]?"

"Quite well, thank you! And yourself?"

"Amazing, thanks. Now how is your [family member] doing? [Person's name if you remember], right?"

Talking on and on about them and often will feel obligated to ask about the other person's family.

If you don't happen to remember any of their family, you can still ask how their sister or brother is doing. If they don't have one, they will tell you and not make a big deal out of it. You should promptly make a comment on how you mistook their sibling for someone else's. No hard feelings will ensue (usually).

3. Food

"By the way, have you heard anything about the [type of] restaurant that [comment about restaurant]?"

They will comment back on the restaurant and share their opinions.

This is typically a safe bet (weather is the safest option though). For example, here in Canandaigua, a new Indian resturant (Flavors) opened up last year that is absolutely amazing, or the new KFC located next to Sakura, the hibachi place. Plenty of options to choose here.

4. What have you been up to?

"By the way, what have you been up to lately? Last I heard, you were doing ___." If you don't happen to remember what they were up to, inquire anyway. They will hopefully correct you and you guys can spend a few minutes catching up.