Raele Altano shares two acronyms to start conversations: JEFE covers hobbies, entertainment, food, and environment, while FORD focuses on family, occupation, recreation, and dreams. Use these topic pillars to break the ice and deepen connections.
If you hate small talk and never know what kind of topics bring up in everyday conversation or conversation with people you don't really know, I have two great acronyms for you, and if you're new here, I'm well with Rael, your communication coach, here to help you socialize and articulate with kindness, class and confidence. The first one is jefe. Kind of like the way the word boss is pronounced in Spanish. Jefe stands for hobbies, entertainment, food, environment, an environment meaning the immediate setting or surrounding that you're in. These are simple, universal topic pillars that everyone can contribute to. Second one, which is more commonly known, is Ford. Ford stands for family, occupation, recreation, and dreams, though you may want to wait to get to know someone better before talking to them about dreams and goals. The other pillars are totally fair game, especially depending on the age range of the person that you're talking to. Keep these acronyms in your back pocket the next time you're making small talk with someone and feel confident in starting the conversation. Sure, small talk can feel awkward and a little superficial at first, but it usually leads to deeper conversations and stronger connections.
