This is the one week every year I encourage people to talk about hot dogs, and secretly it’s one of my favorite weeks of sports conversation starters all year. The topics making headlines are incredibly wide ranging, which makes it easier to connect with folks who might not consider themselves sports fans.

The reality is everyone is a fan of something. You don’t have to follow the Big 4 (football, basketball, baseball, hockey) to be a sports fan. Tennis, cycling and hot dog eating contests all count as sports so use these headlines to engage across the board, and at your July 4^th celebrations, this week.

You don't have to stick to sports when talking sports. 

Sports is a great jumping off point for a number of different conversation topics including travel and food. Half of every sports season is spent on the road. Each city hosting games has their own speciality and local cuisine. As a foodie and cooking show host, I'm always up for a conversation about food so when I found out Chef Boyardee was invented in Cleveland I turned it into a conversation starter with some of the Mariners players. 

We were all in town for baseball, but food opened the door to additional stories and relationship building opportunities. 

It's just one of the ways you can think outside the box scores and use sports to spark bigger conversations outside of the stats, scores and outcomes. 

There’s a little give and take in a good conversation.

And a little vulnerability goes a long way. That could mean admitting you didn’t watch the game everyone is talking about or that you’re having a tough day and haven’t had time to deal with anything other than a family situation.

Having all the answers isn’t the point of conversation, especially in small talk. The objective is connection and for that you need a little give and take.

These sports topics could help in that regard this week.

Home field advantage could be about the comforts of home, not having to travel or the familiarity of a particular setup.

Home field advantage is also measurable in sports.

Through the first half of the 2024 season the Seattle Mariners have one of the best home field advantages in baseball. They’ve won about 69% of their games at T-Mobile Park, which is ranks in the Top 5 home winning percentages in Major League Baseball.

But what gives them the edge? Is it ball park dimensions, fans or the weather/environment?

Here’s what I find interesting about all three of those factors – the players aren’t in control of any of them. You can’t change how a ballpark was built, you can’t tell fans how to react and you can’t control the weather and yet those external factors all play a part in the outcome of a game.

With that in mind, let’s think about this in the context of your team at work.

• What factors give you an advantage?
• How can you create an advantage in your current environment?
...

I can wing it with the best of ‘em but I talk to so many people over the course of a day that sometimes I can’t rely on myself to come up with something good (or interesting) to say.

Instead of trying to come up with something off the top of my head I often revert to the very topics I have right here. Sports works as a conversation starter. Sports doesn’t have to be the primary conversation. Sports is just an easy way to create mental space for something else.

With that in mind, here are a few topics you can use in small talk this week.

An article I read this week suggested chit chat as a way to avoid burnout at work. It was as much about taking a mental break from work as it was building friendships and relationships.

I think we often chalk up chit chat as a waste of time, or maybe just something to fill the time until we launch into a bigger conversation. But chit chat can actually lead to a better work environment if you’re willing to be strategic and intentional in your approach.

It’s why I think these sports topics could be handy this week.

As a foodie and cooking show host, I see food as an expression of love and a way to connect. That wasn’t always the case. When there’s $40 left in your account, a gas tank running on empty and another 5 days until payday, food becomes a source of stress. I’ve been there. I know the feeling.

I know what it’s like to eat ketchup and mustard sandwiches for lunch and only roasted potatoes for dinner. I’m the person who stretched every dollar at the grocery store so that I could make ends meet on my own.

But here’s the thing - if I would have asked for help I would have gotten it. The entire time I was stressed about food and budgeting I had a lifeline I never used. I’m fortunate to have options, but not everyone does.

That’s why I’m hosting a Birthday Bingo Bash on June 27, 2024. The goal is to raise $25,000 to support the work of Food Lifeline and to be a lifeline to people navigating food insecurity in our community. Please join me in making it possible for everyone to put food on the...

If drama is your favorite genre of movies or shows, sports could also be right up your alley this week. Every game provides its own kind of drama, but this week features the start of the NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Finals both of which are filled with storylines and drama. And in my opinion a little sports drama makes for great small talk.

With that in mind here are a few talking points you can use in small talk this week.

Circling back around. Checking in. Just following up.

Oft-used phrases when sending a follow up email. They’re accurate, but also boring. Few people I know get excited to read an email about circling back around.

To be clear, follow up emails need to take place. It’s part of the relationship building process, but there are usually ways to make it more interesting and engaging – like using sports.

“Checking in” might not grab my attention, “Checking in after a big win by the Rangers last night” does.

Sports provides easy and obvious follow up opportunities that are far more interesting than the usual business fallbacks. Give it a try this week using one of these sports topics.

“If you’re excited, they’ll be excited”

Those were the last minute instructions I overheard being given to the swarm of volunteers working a fundraising event Saturday night. The volunteers were tasked with selling raffle tickets and there was some trepidation over striking up conversations with strangers. The volunteer coordinator assured them it would be easier and the conversation would be smoother if they showed enthusiasm because, “if you’re excited, they’ll be excited.”

That’s a reminder that works for small talk - and really any conversation – too. If we’re listless and half-hearted in our efforts to strike up a conversation we shouldn’t be surprised when we’re met with that same energy. Instead, make it a point to be enthusiastic and watch how that interaction changes.

If you need some inspiration or a few sports topics to get the rolling, these will work this week.