There are a number of reasons people avoid or dread small talk. Some believe it’s a waste of time (it’s not, unless you want it to be) and others are intimidated or anxious talking to people they don’t know.

Which is a bit of a Catch-22. Small talk helps build relationships. You won’t move out of that awkward stage of getting to know people without those small interactions. Here’s how you can make things easier – look for the sports fans and ask about the game.

You probably know which colleagues follow sports and sports fans can be easy to spot when they’re wearing team/school logos. Tee up a conversation about their favorite team and you won’t need to search for what to say next. And don’t tune out because you think sports doesn’t matter at work. You’re listening for information that’s useful in follow up conversations and segues into other topics, when they’ve finished their sports comments, of course.

I always get excited for the start of the NFL season and based on the numbers I’m not the only one. The NFL averaged 21 million viewers per game during the league’s opening week last week. Those numbers are up 12% from last year.

That means even if you didn’t watch the NFL your colleagues and friends probably did. Viewership numbers will fluctuate throughout the season, but there is a huge appetite for football and the NFL.

Fans aren’t just fans on game day. They’re fans every day of the week and they often want a chance to talk about their favorite teams, players, outcome, etc… Keep that in mind if you’re looking for easy ways to start conversations this week. Get things rolling with questions like:

• Did you watch football this weekend?
• What did you think of the ______ game?

Or you can use any of the topics listed below.

If you like cheese with your eggs or on your eggs, then might I suggest Cheddar Fried Eggs and this episode of I Cook, You Measure with Kate Scott.

Kate is an all-around bad ass. She’s the voice of the Philadelphia 76ers, but she’s also called play-by-play for NFL, NHL, NCAA Division I football, the Olympics and a FIFA World Cup. Just added to her resume, Madden 25. That’s right she’s an announcer for the classic football video game.

Sports talk is on the table, but so is an impressive (but ridiculously simple) brunch item. Picture a large cheese crisp topped with perfectly fried eggs and a bright herb salad. I promise you’re going to want to cook along with Kate and I and perfect this recipe for your next weekend brunch.

For years I heard Pete Carroll say, “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.” It was certainly true for the Seahawks game I covered Sunday and it’s often true in small talk.

Informal interactions can be clunky, especially when few people strategize small talk. But fear not. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to make a great first impression to leave ‘em on a high note. All you need is a versatile conversation topic that leads to natural follow up conversations. Sports does that, and the topics listed below can help this week.

Despite his hesitation around knives and in a kitchen in general, Steve Zakuani joins me to cook a pescatarian dinner - Fish Florentine.

Steve was the first overall pick by the Seattle Sounders in the 2009 MLS expansion draft and is a legend in the Seattle soccer community.

He might also become a legend in the kitchen after cooking a restaurant quality meal. Here are the ingredients:

The dinner was delicious and belongs on a restaurant menu. You'll impress your family and friends by making this super easy dish. 

You'll also take away a few pieces of advice from the conversation that took place about Steve's career transition from the Bonus Bites episode. 

Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer, but it’s also the start of an exciting sports month that includes NFL regular season games, playoff races in baseball and the WNBA.

That’s just a few of the things happening in sports right now that might lead to more interesting conversations than talking about family vacations. (Although that’s just a guess because sometimes the vacation stories are real doozies.) Either way, here are a list of sports topics that could come up in small talk this week.

 He’s more comfortable on the ice, but Seattle Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak is pretty good when asked to cook up a meal. Big Rig joined I Cook, You Measure presented by Safeway and really tested his knowledge of kitchen gadgets, but also approved of the Moroccan Chicken Skewers with whipped feta and grilled veggies.

And I completely approve of his method for cutting red peppers. I’ve never seen anything like it! (Skip to 14:30 in the full episode)

You can find more from the conversation in the Bonus Bites episode, including the story on how he lost his tooth during a game and what happened after that.

If you want to cook alongside us, here are the ingredients lists from the episode.

What do you do when months of planning go out the window?

You know the feeling and so do a number of college football teams this week. Teams that spent months preparing for the start of a season, expecting to start strong and believing they had the right strategy in place – only to lose the first game of the season and put themselves in a tough position to make the playoffs.

That's what Florida State is dealing with after their stunning loss in week one of the college football season. the sports story is definitely going to come up in conversation with fans, but there's a bigger business conversation you can have too. The conversation about rallying a team and rebounding from disappointment. It's one way you can think outside the box scores and use sports to your advantage in business. 

Or you can stick to sports and use these topics in small talk this week. 

I’m confident in conversations while cooking, it’s the soccer part of this conversation that takes me out of my comfort zone. I guess I should have pictured myself talking soccer rules when I asked a Seattle soccer legend to join me, but I didn't think through that one all the way. That wasn't the only thing I was unprepared for.

Seattle Sounders Legend Brad Evans surprised me by revealing he has experience on cooking shows, maybe that's part of the reason he was such a natural on this episode. We chatted about his career and the work the Sounders are doing in the community. 

We also share risotto hack - barley. It speeds up the process and eliminates the need for constant stirring which gives us more time to chat and drink wine. Watch the full episode of I Cook, You Measure with Brad Evans and use the ingredients list below to recreate the dish. 

The Bonus Bites episode with Brad Evans have even more stories from the MLS standout including the trick he...

I'll be honest, the dog-days of summer have me lacking inspiration.

Which is why I'll definitely be leaning on these sports conversation starters in small talk this week.