Small talk can help you bond with an evasive CEO or hard-to-please in-law. Use 'support responses'People who are good at small talk use "support responses," Matt Abrahams, a Stanford University lecturer and communications expert, wrote last year. Nod moreBeing good at small talk usually means having a high emotional intelligence. When it happens, she has a "secret" for making small talk that anyone can use. Ask for adviceAn easy way to flatter someone while making small talk without offering up an outright compliment is to ask them for advice.

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Persons: you've, bungle, John Bowe, Nicholas Epley, it's, Epley, Bowe, You've, Matt Abrahams, Abrahams, SuChin Pak, Britney Spears, Oprah, that's Organizations: CNBC, University of Chicago, intuit, Stanford University, Veteran, Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania