Conversations in elevators can be some of the most uncomfortable and awkward examples of human communication.
Four months ago I joined the legions of human beings who ride the elevator from the lobby of an office building to the floor where their office or desk is located – in my case, it’s the ninth floor of Vancity’s head office in Vancouver. Thanks to the rise of cities and the creation of denser, vertical urban neighbourhoods, millions of people also travel up and down in elevators en route to and from home, too. Needless to say, I’m quite confident that everyone reading this article has engaged in successful, failed and downright weird conversations in elevators.
When it comes to talking to people in elevators you need split-second decision-making abilities and some skill in having micro-conversations. If you’re like my awesome friend Darren Barefoot, who is a man of many talents, one of which isn’t elevator small talk, you might want to review this article by Gretchen Rubin. Here are my three tips for engaging in great elevator conversations:
