Conversations are a gift of time.

That thought struck me following a conversation with Seahawks GM John Schneider who was raving about a meeting that lasted 2 ½ hours. The information gathered in that meeting was important and useful but he kept coming back to the gift of time - “Can you believe he took 2 ½ hours out of his day to talk to me?”

Your conversations don’t need to last 2 ½ hours. And small talk doesn’t have to be a waste of time. It can be a gift of time.

You can use these sports topics to get the ball rolling in those conversations.

I was wrong. I didn't expect that outcome. 

That's a fairly normal thing to say in a sports conversation. In fact, that conversation is fairly easy and straightforward based on the final score and the stats. 

Admitting you're wrong in a business conversation can be more difficult or uncomfortable. Practicing that kind of vulnerability helps. Sports small talk is a form of practice. It's just one of the ways small talk can be useful in bigger business conversations. 

Speaking of, here's a list of sports topics making news this week. 

You don’t have to be a football fan to appreciate one of the most impressive stats from the weekend games. 546 pushups. That was the total number completed by the Oregon Ducks mascot as a result of the Ducks 81-7 win over Portland State. (In case you’re not familiar with this particular tradition, the mascot does pushups following each Oregon score.)

It’s a sports adjacent topic that can definitely spark some conversation this week – and maybe cause you to rethink your workout strategy.

If you’d prefer more traditional sports talk choose one of the talking points from the list below.

Did you see the game last night?

I know it seems forward and maybe a little out of place if you’re unsure the person you’re talking to is a sports fan. But trust me a yes/no sports question really is the best way to strike up a conversation.

It’s also the first step in using sports talk in networking and relationship building. Whether you’re growing your network, prospecting new clients or getting to know new colleagues the key to building relationships and establishing rapport is making consistent connections.

Sports talk can help you do that, and a Yes/No question like “Did you see the game last night?” narrow the focus and give you a starting point. I personally don’t care what the answer is, I just want a direction to take the conversation and craft my follow up interaction.

The next interaction might be about sports, or maybe the conversation branches out. That can happen if  you keep an open mind.

It’s not all about sports,...

Looking at my weekly schedule and to-do list is a little daunting this time of year. I bet that’s true for you as everyone settles into a more “normal” routine following summer schedules and vacations.

I know it’s easy to focus on everything you have to do and start eliminating the non-essential conversations  like small talk. But it might be worthwhile to remember small talk helps build rapport and relationships that can help you get  more done. In addition, small talk can last for seconds not minutes.

Keep it short and sweet and keep that top of mind when talking about these sports topics this week.

If you, like Julie Andrews, believe the beginning is the very best place to start then this is the very best time to become a football fan or at the very least joining football conversations. (And thank you for indulging my Sound of Music reference.)

The start of every sports season is a good place to start but football season gives you the greatest opportunity to leverage sports conversations and build relationships with football fans.

That’s because football, NFL in particular, is the most popular sport among sports fans in the United States by a wide margin based on yearly Gallup surveys. As a result, you don’t have to go far to find a headline and jump into the conversations.

I find those points compelling, but here are a few others to boost your confidence in becoming a football fan at the beginning of the season. 

It’s a natural starting point. Every team starts with a 0-0 record in Week 1. It doesn’t matter if you watched the preseason games or...

A lot of sports talk focuses on the “Big 4” of football, baseball, basketball and hockey because they tend to be the most popular, most talked about and watched sports throughout the year.  

But you can be a fan of whatever sport you want.

I always chuckle at the folks who tell me they’re not sports fans but then say they love playing tennis and watching soccer. Don’t overlook or downplay your sports interests. Bring them up in conversation. And if soccer and tennis happen to be on your radar – there are a couple topics in this list of conversation starters you can use this week.  

When I think about connecting or networking I’m usually focused on who I need to meet or my objectives for building relationships. But sometimes its helpful to look at the other side of the conversation and consider the person you’re talking to might want to connect over something specific – like a favorite player, sport, team or city.

Giving people an opening to talk about something they’re interested in they’ll open up and make meaningful connections.

These sports conversation starters can help with that this week.

Here’s a small challenge for you this week… substitute one of your go-to words or phrases for something new.

It’s an easy thing to practice in sports talk. Instead of a great win, maybe it’s a terrific win or a critical win. Instead of saying a home run was hit, maybe it was launched, torqued or crushed.

Here’s why this challenge is useful:

1. Stronger, more descriptive words help you tell a more compelling story
2. Choosing accurate words helps in giving accurate praise and feedback

Both of those skills are important in business and both can be practiced in sports talk. Here’s a list of topics you can use in practicing this week.  

The more clarity you can provide in a conversation the easier the interaction becomes. Clarity can also help make a conversation more meaningful, especially when it comes to small talk.

Those are the conversations we often try to shortcut. We’re lazy in the questions we ask (Think: How are you?) We hope the person we’re talking with says something interesting or we’re avoiding the exchange altogether.

Despite what you might have been taught, open-ended questions create overwhelm and confusion. (Again, think: How are you?) If you want a better answer try something like:

• What's been the best part of your morning?
• How do you feel about the project deadline?
• How do you think the Seahawks will do this year?  

Those questions have a specific answer. There’s no guesswork involved for the person answering. As a result, you’ll get a better answer, the conversation will be easier and more meaningful.

Give it a try with these sports conversation topics this...