No one likes small talk, but comedian Jerry Seinfeld has a useful trick for making it better: When you're stuck, ask a question someone has to answer with a number.


In his hilarious web series, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, he's schmoozing with Amy Schumer and he mentions a tip for chatting with people:

Here's my trick for talking to people — numbers! "Ask them questions to which the answer is a number. There's always an answer. This is Seinfeld's secret technique for talking to regular people — 'How long have you lived here? What time do you start work? When did you do that?'


Small talk thrives on asking questions and open-ended questions work best. If your conversation partner is answering with a shrug, though, Seinfeld's tip just might work. The numerical answer might be a starting point to an open-ended question.

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Watch the video for the details and keep this tip in your conversation bag of tricks when you'd like to mix up your questions.

Amy Schumer | Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee via Business Insider