If you’re finding it hard to focus on business goals and objectives during the dog days of summer, then don’t.

Lots of folks are distracted or on vacation this time of year, so shift your focus toward making connections. Being intentional with your small talk is an easy way to measure wins. It gives you the chance to build the consistency and relationships that ultimately lead to business opportunities.

Here are a few sports topics you can use in small talk this week.

Game plans aren’t just helpful in sports, they’re required. Without one athletes can’t prepare and they’d be leaving success to chance.

A game plan is pretty helpful for just about every scenario including conversations. You won’t be leaving success to chance with these sports conversation starters in your back pocket.

I've lost track of the number of times the word "communication" or "communicate" has been said during press conferences at Seahawks Training Camp. Nearly every player, unprompted, has mentioned a greater level of communication as a differentiator for on field success. 

They're talking about communication during practice and the conversations that take place away from the field as they get to know new teammates. All of it is important for success whether you're an NFL player or not. It's why these sports conversation starters might be helpful to you this week. 

It’s the slowest time of year in the sports calendar which gives you even more opportunity to branch out in your sports talk. Lean into sports and activities that go beyond the “Big 4” (football, baseball, basketball, hockey.)

Cycling, fly-fishing, pickleball are all sports. And guess what? There’s even professional cornhole. Go ahead and get crazy this week because football is just around the corner along with the home stretch for baseball and the WNBA.  

The MLB All-Star rosters were announced Sunday afternoon and it didn’t take long for the list of “snubs” to follow. The players who should have made it but didn’t. It’s a somewhat arbitrary thing since there’s no strict definition of All-Star. It’s not based strictly on the numbers.

It’s a reminder that the numbers don’t speak for themselves. It’s true for big league players and it’s true for you. You don’t need to brag about your accomplishments, but you do need to speak up and add your voice.

I also think you should speak up in conversations this week using these sports topics in small talk.

For the last week I’ve been completely enthralled with the book I’m reading. The plot line is interesting enough, but it’s the descriptions and the way the author paints a picture that has captured my attention. Strong words create imagery that’s captivating and convey more meaning. You can do more with less when you choose the right word for the moment.

The holiday this week gives you a chance to practice with strong words. Just think of the fireworks shows on July 4^th. Words like magical, spectacular, emotional and captivating could all be used to articulate the moment and could spark ideas for how to use strong words in other conversations.

Small interactions give you a chance to practice for bigger ones and that’s what small talk and these conversation starters can help you do this week.

The champagne celebration that took place in the Oklahoma City locker room after winning the NBA Championship was sponsored by Moet & Chandon. The tradition of dousing teammates in champagne goes back decades but it’s only been in the last few years that champagne sponsorships have taken off.

I took a bit of a deep dive on the topic after reading and article over the weekend. Truth be told, living in the Seattle area I take a very passive interest in the NBA, but I enjoy champagne and I enjoy sports conversations.

It’s just another reminder that you can veer “off-topic” with sports talk and still be part of the conversations.

If you’ve ever had a bad day (or a bad week) at work, you can relate to most of the U.S. Open field. The course played extremely tough and affected nearly everyone including the top-ranked golfer in the world.

You don’t have to play golf or even have watched the tournament to empathize with a bad day at work. It’s just one of the parallels between sports and business and another quick reminder that you can use sports and sports outcomes to talk about bigger business conversations. Or you can stick to sports and use these topics in small talk this week.

Every sports story can take on a business application if you’re willing to think outside the box scores. Whether you’re looking for an example of perseverance (like at the French Open) or a conversation about tight competition in the marketplace (like in the Stanley Cup Finals) there’s a direct sports correlation which can help spark conversations that are needed in business.

Of course, there’s also just the sports topics themselves. Here are a few you might hear in conversations this week.

Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start to summer and always includes the Indy 500. This year Alex Palou won in front of a packed grandstand and chugged a bottle of milk in Victory Circle. (In case you’re wondering, drivers can choose fat-free, 2% or whole milk before the race.) It’s a unique celebration and one that makes a fun conversation starter on a holiday weekend.

Here are a couple options:

• Would you rather chug a glass of milk or grape juice with dinner?
• What has to be included in celebration that involves food?

You can also stick to sports and use any of these topics to get the conversation going.