9 ways to skip the shallow small talk and have deep conversations

Small talk exists for a reason.

When you first meet someone at a conference or a cocktail party, you might seem a little strange if you launch right into, "What's your favorite childhood memory?"

That said, you don't want to get stuck talking about the fact that it's raining hard forever. At some point, you'll want to hear a person's real story - why they chose to go into their current line of work or what they love about being a dad.

To help you have more meaningful conversations, we checked out some relevant Quora threads and other advice and highlighted the best tips.

Read on to find out what you should (and shouldn't) say to spark substantive dialogue.