Inspiration: 100 Advertising Blogs

Google is my BFF. Yall should meet if you haven't yet. Came across this epic list of ad blogs and wanted to share.

I wish I could bookmark them all and add them to my daily reading routine. But, alas, I have work to do.

Remember - you should be a student of advertising. So keep this list from BlogRank handy when you need inspiration and information and make sure you stay up to date on what's hot and what's not in this crazy biz.

Happy Inspiration Hunting!


Advertising  Blogs: The ultimate rank


# Blog Title RSS RSS Badge
1st Adverblog 37,802 727,212 53,597 2,010 6 rss 100 100
2nd Scary Ideas 4,264 756,770 403,839 18 4 rss 98.13 100
3rd Adrants 18,013 57,954 62,643 3,330 6 rss 97.89 100
4th Adland 28,412 n/a 122,240 17 6 rss 97.81 100
5th AdPulp 6,261 1,035,929 313,334 10 6 rss 97.36 100
6th ReveNews 3,678 716,292 88,415 16 5 rss 96.99 100
7th The Inspiration Room Daily 9,312 n/a n/a 2,030 5 rss 96.96 100
8th Influential Marketing Blog 16,800 n/a 269,747 10 6 rss 96.62 100
9th I believe in adv n/a 212,024 48,348 2,310 6 rss 96.61 100
10th Advertising Lab 39,720 n/a 1,022,398 8 5 rss 96.35 100
11th Search Engine People Blog 6,220 n/a n/a 29 5 rss 95.91 100
12th aimClear Blog 3,464 318,201 76,665 13 5 rss 95.82 100
13th the blog herald n/a 237,075 31,219 24 7 rss 95.44 100
14th Dreamgrow Social Media 2,188 231,403 25,018 15 4 rss 95.39 100
15th Bannerblog n/a n/a n/a 19 5 rss 95.36 100
16th Osocio n/a 743,275 276,914 2,150 6 rss 95.3 100
17th AdverBox n/a 442,538 356,786 12 5 rss 94.84 100
18th Joe La Pompe n/a 1,320,223 340,508 7 5 rss 94.66 100
19th VerticalResponse Email Marketing Blog 3,152 n/a n/a 12 6 rss 94.62 100
20th gapingvoid n/a 148,452 134,779 3,860 6 rss 94.14 100
21st Nick Burcher 2,732 1,021,780 510,002 10 4 rss 94.01 100
22nd adfreak n/a n/a n/a 18 6 rss 93.81 100
23rd Only Dead Fish 3,402 n/a 602,148 8 5 rss 93.76 100
24th The Denver Egotist n/a 299,827 122,984 11 5 rss 93.53 100
25th Ads of the World n/a n/a n/a 5 5 rss 93.35 100
26th Optimize and Prophesize 3,115 1,452,451 974,573 9 5 rss 93.22 100
27th The Ad Mad 1,347 1,091,533 2,033,362 48 4 rss 93.01 100
28th Very Official Blog 2,494 1,394,662 899,845 5 4 rss 92.93 100
29th Make The Logo Bigger 2,518 n/a 2,359,322 74 5 rss 92.9 100
30th copyranter n/a n/a 910,545 12 5 rss 92.79 100
31st adverlicio.us n/a n/a 1,678,427 4,910 5 rss 92.66 100
32nd 5 Blogs Before Lunch n/a n/a n/a 305 4 rss 92.62 100
33rd MusiqueDePub.TV n/a n/a 331,514 15 4 rss 92.49 100
34th Groundswell n/a n/a n/a 8 6 rss 92.49 100
35th advergirl n/a n/a n/a 1 4 rss 92.47 100
36th Hooked On Ads 328 2,168,622 1,113,575 9 3 rss 92.28 100
37th adliterate n/a 2,605,479 1,120,049 12,600 5 rss 92.2 100
38th PPC dot BZ 675 n/a 91,465 12 3 rss 92.13 100
39th Crackunit n/a 1,545,506 1,396,909 21 5 rss 92.05 100
40th Mastercom Advertising and Communication Blog 515 n/a 481,646 9 4 rss 91.98 100
41st So Good n/a 274,977 542,513 13 5 rss 91.86 100
42nd ContextWeb Internet Advertising Blog 623 n/a n/a 2 5 rss 91.77 100
43rd AdOfDaMonth.com n/a 2,183,682 1,101,920 11 4 rss 91.76 100
44th Mommy's Hangout 214 341,850 114,951 10 3 rss 91.65 100
45th Blog of Ronnestam - Innovative Communication from Sweden with Love n/a 3,326,808 468,264 12 5 rss 91.63 100
46th Marketing Practice 2,905 n/a 2,275,932 4,320 3 rss 91.56 100
47th AdScam/The Horror! n/a n/a 479,220 11 5 rss 91.35 100
48th PostAdvertising n/a 598,155 418,459 17,800 4 rss 91.35 100
49th The Ad Contrarian n/a n/a 728,269 6 5 rss 91.24 100
50th Off Madison AVe n/a 1,394,431 579,432 12 5 rss 91.11 100
51st MisEntropy 931 2,315,468 1,270,982 46 4 rss 90.97 100
52nd Tom H. C. Anderson - More Than Market Research n/a 2,505,857 853,898 9 5 rss 90.89 100
53rd Experience Manifesto n/a n/a n/a 31 n/a rss 90.88 100
54th London Calling n/a n/a n/a 2 4 rss 90.7 100
55th gaduman 1,051 n/a 1,601,774 14,200 4 rss 90.7 100
56th Small Agency Diary n/a n/a n/a 3 6 rss 90.69 100
57th FADS n/a 238,598 68,827 18 5 rss 90.62 100
58th Ad Operations Online n/a 1,176,003 223,555 10 4 rss 90.5 100
59th Media Hunter n/a n/a 242,988 8 5 rss 90.48 100
60th FreshNetworks Blog n/a n/a n/a 9 4 rss 90.45 100
61st Great Ads 1,280 n/a 1,604,739 12,000 4 rss 90.38 100
62nd Quietglover 1,159 3,099,554 3,051,299 10 4 rss 90.3 100
63rd The Marketing Fresh Peel n/a 2,850,721 871,818 7,300 4 rss 90.16 100
64th THINKing n/a n/a n/a 32 3 rss 90.15 100
65th The Praized Blog n/a n/a n/a 13 5 rss 90.11 100
66th Mommy Goggles n/a 353,877 275,249 9 3 rss 90.01 100
67th Garfield: The Blog n/a n/a n/a 5 6 rss 89.83 100
68th ThirdWay Advertising Blog 529 872,669 4,350,707 9 4 rss 89.77 100
69th IABlog n/a n/a n/a 13 6 rss 89.77 100
70th Advertising for Peanuts n/a n/a 4,241,334 8 4 rss 89.73 100
71st BNET Industry n/a n/a n/a 7 5 rss 89.7 100
72nd KeySplash Creative 73 n/a n/a 5 4 rss 89.58 100
73rd Adages: The Blog n/a n/a n/a 7 6 rss 89.56 100
74th Tribble Ad Agency n/a 1,106,861 906,520 7 3 rss 89.24 100
75th This Aint No Disco n/a 3,160,885 10,529,337 64 4 rss 89.22 100
76th Please Feed The Animals n/a 1,509,646 5,231,311 5 5 rss 89.2 100
77th Leo Burnett Toronto 835 n/a 2,041,819 2 4 rss 89.12 100
78th The Big Tent n/a n/a n/a 3 6 rss 89.08 100
79th IZEA Blog n/a n/a n/a 1 4 rss 89.05 100
80th Whole Brain Marketing n/a n/a n/a 5 2 rss 89.04 100
81st Songs for Soap: Advertising Age n/a n/a n/a 32 3 rss 88.98 100
82nd The hubbub n/a n/a n/a 1 4 rss 88.97 100
83rd Digital Examples n/a n/a 2,827,350 12 4 rss 88.95 100
84th Profectio 840 4,530,523 1,249,386 8,810 4 rss 88.95 100
85th Everythings Better With Brentter n/a 2,189,000 2,257,993 14 4 rss 88.88 100
86th 15-Seconds n/a n/a n/a 8 3 rss 88.86 100
87th Reklam 2.0 n/a n/a n/a 9 4 rss 88.86 100
88th Sigma Blog n/a n/a n/a 1 3 rss 88.75 100
89th How To Break Anything n/a n/a n/a 1 2 rss 88.75 100
90th Small Business Marketing Blog n/a n/a n/a 1 4 rss 88.74 100
91st PJA Blog: The Complex Brand n/a n/a n/a 1 4 rss 88.71 100
92nd idio n/a n/a n/a 1 4 rss 88.67 100
93rd American Copywriter n/a n/a 5,286,051 3 4 rss 88.63 100
94th Hearken Creative Services n/a n/a n/a n/a 3 rss 88.55 100
95th JLT Creative n/a n/a n/a n/a 2 rss 88.5 100
96th Gods of Advertising n/a n/a 889,965 43 4 rss 88.48 100
97th Berbagi Kenikmatan n/a n/a n/a n/a 2 rss 88.45 100
98th The House of Marketing n/a n/a 2,912,536 13 2 rss 88.45 100
99th Click for Clients n/a n/a n/a 3 n/a rss 88.43 100
100th Right Brain Waves n/a n/a n/a 4 1 rss 88.4 100
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I Love/Hate Advertising

stephen0493

A friend recently asked "What makes you stay in love with advertising? What makes you come back month after month?"

I pondered and then responded:

"Because I'm good at it and I like doing it.
Being an artist in a corporate environment is difficult.
Creatives always go through this love/hate relationship with advertising.
On one hand, it's a lucrative way to channel our creativity.
On the other, it sometimes stifles our creativity.
I don't expect every day to be great. Or every project, coworker or client to be awesome.
Life is full of ups and downs.
But, as with any healthy relationship, the ups should outweigh the downs.
The ups make it worth it. The in-betweens, too.
(The downs make me an alcoholic.)
But as long as I feel challenged and supported, and know that I'm using my skills and growing and making a difference in some way, I'll be okay."

I wrote about it last year, here is a refresher.

Falling In and Out With Your Love
Originally posted 9/19/12

Great creative are students of advertising, art and culture. They are always soaking up new information and insights, hunting inspiration and coming up with different ways to merge the two to create something that will move people.

If you don’t feel that way about advertising, feel free to exit this blog, drop out of whatever ad program you’re in, delete your portfolio, and find something you genuinely love and enjoy doing to pursue. You will be miserable in this industry if you are not truly passionate about it. (Like this adgeek.)

Granted you won’t be in love with advertising every day. There will be those days when you’re not in the mood for advertising. Or advertising is being annoying and needy. Or it messes up your plans for the long weekend. Or it’s being difficult to deal with.

It’s not always a bed of roses. (If you haven’t read Don’t Get a Job in Advertising yet, read it and run little pony.) It’s easy to get burnt out, frustrated, drained and derailed.

Every working creative will tell you, sometimes you just fall out of love with advertising. 
The problem is, advertising isn’t going to try to win you back. There will be no love letters or song dedications on the radio to you. You either have to actively work to reignite the fire or go look for a teaching job.

Ways to keep the passion alive:
·         
           Look at award show entries. Seeing the great ideas and campaigns out there always reminds refuels me. If someone else could create this, then what awesomeness can I create? Check out Cannes Lion Winners  or One Show Awards 

·         Look at what new campaigns are coming out. Sometimes this makes me feel the way looking at award-winning stuff does. Sometimes it makes me feel like “Shoot, I can do waaay better than that.” But either way, it pushes me to start thinking and creating. Which is all that matters. Try Ads of the World  or Creativity Online
 
·        Take a break. Go on vacation. Go out of town for the weekend. Change your pace and switch up your environment so you can properly relax, relate and release. Well since I started this precedent of giving sample sites, hmm, how about Kayak or Last Minute?
·       
     Talk to your friends who are brokers, lawyers, nurses and unemployed. Advertising doesn’t see so bad after all, does it? Crabs, I don't know what to link this to. Um. Here. Article: 1/3 of companies block social media
·       
     Enter a competition. There are ad competitions going on all the time. Find one and put your all into it. It’s not necessary about winning (though who doesn't love winning?) but it’s more about getting that unfettered, unfiltered creative process going again. No clients, no budget, no account people, no limitations. Fly little bird, fly free! (I don’t know why I’m fixated on little animals today.) Check out the YoungGuns and Student ADDYs.





Every relationship takes work and your relationship with your career is no different. How successful and happy you are depends on you.

Get to work.
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Icebreaking 105: Following Up Online

This is the most crucial step. You've met them. You have their business card. Now what?

Start emailing.

Make sure you write unique emails for each person you're following up to and include a tidbit about who you are, how you two met and where as reminders. Same for if you send a LinkedIn request.

Keep the emails short and sweet and action-oriented. Do you want to meet for coffee? Do you want to show them your book? Let them know what you want to happen next at the end of the message.

I've written about this a lot, in much more detail, so here are links to get you going.

Email Dos & Don'ts
The Art of Emailing 
I Won't Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar
How Formal Should Your Email Be?
Keep in Touch 
7 Things You're Doing Wrong on Linkedin
How to Get Ignored on LinkedIn 

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Icebreaking 104: How to Introduce Yourself


This may sound like elementary, but stop for a second and pretend like you’re meeting me for the first time at a big event, what would you say?

Then, pretend like 6 people came up to me within the past hour and said just about the same thing with a different name, different state.

Now what?

Let’s talk about some of the more effective ways to introduce yourself so you can effectively sell yourself and, most importantly, be remembered. (Remember, 80% of the people you meet at ad events probably won’t remember you. Especially the higher up they are on the totem pole – the less likely they are to care for the little guy. Sadly.) 

These aren’t hard and fast rules, just some tips I’ve learned along the way that have helped me.

How To Introduce Yourself  
·      You don’t always have to start with a formal “Hi, my name is…” Sometimes you can start by making an observation, small joke or asking a question. This is an easy and unintimidating way to test the waters before you launch into your life story.

·      Don’t launch into your life story. Say who you are, what you do and, if necessary, why you’re here or what you and he/she have in common. Focus on three key points you want to get across early so they get an overview of you and are intrigued to talk to you more.

·      Shake the person’s hand, look them in the eye and repeat their name. And don’t get those weak, flimsy shakes. I hate hate hate awful handshakes. Be firm, full-handed and not too rough or strong. Practice on your friends to get feedback on what you’re doing right/wrong.

·      Watch your body language. Stand up straight. Make eye contact. Lean into the speaker. Smile. Make sure they know that you’re listening, engaged and interested. Similarly, watch their body language, if they look like they’re itching to go – let them go.

·      Have something to say. Whether it’s a question, observation or small story, find some interesting tidbit or common ground that you can share a few sentences, and maybe a laugh or two, over.

·      End the conversation early. Don’t wait until their eye starts wandering or someone else snatches them a way. Be concise, get in, leave an impression and then keep it moving. If you want, you can always go back and talk to them again later.

·      Close to the end of the conversation, ask for their business card and if you can contact them later. Don’t ask for the business card too early because that feels more like a closer and they'll hand it to you and say goodbye. (Tip: take their card so the responsibility to connect is in your hand, not theirs.)

Related Posts: 
How to Show Off Without Looking Like a Show Off
Reality Check: I Don't Remember You 
Make People Remember You
Tips on Talking About Yourself
Use Your Past Life
Interview Dos & Don'ts



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Icebreaking 103: 5 Questions To Get You Going

Today's lesson is from an article on Fast Company that was really helpful to me and my small talk-hating ways. I'm getting less awkward and I hope you are too.

Hate Small Talk? These 5 Questions Will Help You Work Any Room

By Allison Graham

Do you love going to events, but find yourself stranded during happy hour, tongue-tied and tucked in a corner? Initiating and maintaining conversations while networking is a necessary skill, and one you can easily improve with these simple tips.




Mastering small talk will help you find common ground to create a mini-bond with new contacts. Small talk may feel trite and unimportant, but it's the small talk that leads to the big talk.
Ideally small talk will uncover common interests, business alignments, the six degrees that separate you, potential need for your product or service, and basically whether or not you enjoy each other's company. The goal is not to become best friends or a new client on the spot. Although it's nice when those instant connections happen, usually that's not the case.

The goal of conversation at functions is to establish enough common ground to determine a reason to connect again.

Getting To Hello...And Beyond

Tongue-tied and standing in a corner? Use these easy tips for working a room.

When looking for a conversation partner in a crowded room, there are three likely scnarioes that make it easy to initiate dialogue:

--Fun, inviting groups
--White-knuckled loners who look uncomfortable and will welcome your attempt to initiate dialogue
--Familiar faces

Questions to get the conversations flowing:

"What’s your connection to the event?" This question can uncover mutual contacts and usually leads to a more robust answer than if you asked the typical “Have you been to this event before?”

"What’s keeping you busy when you’re not at events like this or at work?" This question gives the encouragement necessary for the person to share his/her passions and outside interests. It is an excellent way to add some enthusiasm into a conversation that has hit a lull, especially if he/she would prefer to be doing that activity at that moment.

"Are you getting away this summer?" This question can lead to conversations about family, reveal special interests and, if you like talking about travel, it’s a sure-fire way to keep a conversation interesting.

"Are you working on any charity initiatives?" This question makes it easy to launch into a deeper connection. If they’re not involved with any projects, they often share reasons which is usually revealing, and if they are doing something of value they will be more than happy to share.

"How did you come to be in your line of work?" For some, the path to where they are today can be quite an interesting ordeal. Having a chance to revisit their story to success can leave helpful clues along the way as to who they are and what makes them tick.

Keeping a conversation rolling is simple when you learn to listen and ask appropriate probing questions that naturally grow from the dialogue. You only need to prepare a couple of questions in advance. If there is a genuine connection then you can proactively engage in conversation.

When a person doesn't participate actively in a conversation with you, that's a red flag to say to yourself, "Okay, this is not one of my quality contacts, it's time to move on and meet someone else."

Ultimately, the decision each person has to make during this initial contact is whether or not there is enough connection to warrant future interaction. It's during these small conversations that people form their opinions about whether they like you, trust you, and believe you're competent.

Actual business talk is quite limited at functions. Learning what people do and perhaps about some of their big developments or projects is about the extent of the business talk expected. Deeper connections are formed through finding common ground that is not work related.

There is a balance between too much and too little business talk. If you don't talk business at all you may miss an opportunity to communicate who you are, what you do, and what you have to offer and that you are competent in your field. There are some people who you can know for years and never hear them talk about work. You just assume they are retired or not interested in more clients.

However, if you talk about your work too much you run the risk of boring others. Too much "shoptalk" can easily put a damper on an evening. Watch for cues from your conversation partners.

How are they responding to the conversation with you? Are they engaged? Are they obviously looking for a new conversation partner? Are they listening to and understanding what you are saying?
Are you giving them more information than they expect, want, or need? Are you monopolizing the conversation and not giving others a chance to share ideas or ask questions?

Match the depth of dialogue to the environment.

You don't want to let people overhear confidential or inappropriate information. Plus, talk that is too deep at business functions can lead to heated conversations. New contacts could be put on edge.

Over-heated conversations can quickly be subdued by simply making a closing agreeable statement that offers little room for a rhetorical comment. This tactic will diffuse the situation quickly and without incident.

For example, say with a smile, "Well, that's one issue we're not going to solve tonight," or simply close the conversation with "I certainly understand your perspective," minus the "but" that is sitting on the tip of your tongue.

You won't win points for always having to be right. You may win the debate while making someone else look bad, but in the end, you'll make yourself look worse. You will, however, win points for having social graces if you are the bigger person and cool potentially fiery situations.

You have to know when to let go and kill the discussion even if you believe you are correct on the issue. In the grand scheme of things, we must value the opinions of others and accept that it is not important to win every debate. The last thing you want to do is to appear as the know-it-all who must end conversations as the perceived winner.

Your words may be forgotten, but how you make people feel will be remembered.

When it comes to small talk, don't think you must say something strikingly intelligent each time you speak. Your words may be forgotten, but how you make people feel will be remembered.

No doubt small talk can get a little dull after a while. So, take it upon yourself to make it interesting.

To prepare for conversations, choose your five favorite safe topics. These will make it easy for you to swing an otherwise stale conversation into one that makes you a genuinely enthusiastic conversationalist.

Have you ever been in a conversation that just wasn't clicking, then suddenly the mood changes and you both have a smile on your face as the conversation starts firing on all cylinders? That's because you found common ground. It occurs when two people have an interest in the same topic.

By determining in advance what interests you, half of the equation for stimulating conversation is complete. Now your job is to guide the conversation from topic to topic until you solve the other important half of the equation: What's of interest to your new contact?

Finally, it's about your attitude.

I must admit, after attending hundreds of events and interacting with thousands of people, there are times when I feel small talk is simply a dreaded requirement. I'm writing this so you know that I completely understand if you're reading this and thinking, "I don't care about all this superficial conversation."
When I get in those moods, I remind myself that the person I'm meeting has the potential to be my next big client or a newfound friend. If those thoughts don't shift my attitude, I'll set a personal challenge to create a super-duper fantastic conversation with a new contact. For some reason, this additional challenge seems to inspire me to get enthusiasm back into the small talk. If that doesn't work, I just remind myself that the person I'm talking with deserves my respect.
The real key to great conversations is to relax. Let the conversation flow naturally. That's easiest to do when you're fully engaged and genuinely interested in the conversation topic and the person with whom you are talking.

Do you have questions you typically use to break the ice and form lasting connections? Tell us about it in the comments. 

Reprinted by permission of the publisher, John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd., from From Business Cards to Business Relationships: Personal Branding and Profitable Networking Made Easy, 2nd Edition [2], by Allison Graham. Copyright © 2012 by Allison Graham.
Allison Graham is a corporate trainer and keynote speaker specializing in effective networking and business development strategies for professional service providers and small business entrepreneurs. Visit her at Elevate Seminars + Strategic Development, Inc. [3]
[Image: Flickr user Aquila [4]]
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Icebreaking 102: Use the News


Continuing on my Ice Breaking series aka How to use Small Talk to Lead to Bigger Things aka how to talk to strangers without sounding like an idiot.


TIP 2: Use the News.

Be up-to-date on the latest industry news and trends so you can come off educated and excited.

It’s easier to start a convo with a stranger in advertising when the conversation is about advertising.  

“This Samsung-Apple situation is heating up, huh?” beats “This weather’s crazy, huh?” any day.

Here are some ways to be in-the-know so you have enough conversational lubricant when you are out and about with ad folk.

·      Read advertising magazines and blogs (AdAge, AdWeek, ComArts, Creativity, Archive, AdFreak, Adverblog, The Denver Egoist, etc, etc) daily. You need to know what’s going on in every aspect of this business.

     ·      Follow thought-leaders on Twitter. (Who knows, you may get a RT or spark up a conversation.)
Try AdFreak’s TweetFreak: 50 to Follow

     ·      Like agencies and ad organisations on Facebook. They share what’s up with them and the industry. (Also great to keep up with who’s winning and losing accounts – meaning, who is hiring.)
Try: 5 Agency Facebook Pages With Personality

·      Google agencies and their leaders. Find out who is going to be where you are and check out their LinkedIn and their work. (Who doesn’t like talking about themselves?)
Try: Google. Ha. And Agency Compile.


·      Immerse yourself in real advertising. Actually watch commercials, listen to radio spots, look at the banners around you, grab a magazine and check out the print work. Look at the history, look at the trends. (Whether they love it or hate it (especially if they hate it) ad people love talking about advertising.)
Try: Ads of the World and Creativity
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Icebreaking 101: Small Talking Tips

What do you have to talk about?

You're at an industry event (Let's say Advertising Week ) and you're in the presence of all these advertising greats you want to meet. What next?

I've written in the past about it before and this week I'm going to spend a bit more time on that. I'm going to call this series: How to use Small Talk to Lead to Bigger Things.

Part 1: Learn how to make Small Talk
Originally posted 10/3/11

One of my goals here is to be honest and direct with you at all times. Lying, coddling and misleading you won't get you anywhere in life. And puts me on a one-way, nonstop train to Hell. (aka front row at The View.) So let me get this out of the way before I go any further into this post. I hate small talk.

I hate it.

Most people are boring and/or poor conversationalists and I'd rather not force banter and waste my wit on them. And yes, you may be my best friend's boyfriend or the CEO of my company, but if I try and find we genuinely have nothing to talk about or you can't grasp the basic dynamics of a dialogue then I quit.

Then there are those people, people I admire in this realm, who are able to push past the awkward silence, the short responses and paragraphs about laundry, weather systems or teething. (Situations in which I usually find myself trying to come up with ways to frame other people for my suicide, you know, just to keep NYPD busy.)

Making small talk is a skill. And a valuable asset to have as a creative. Don't get me wrong, I'm a social butterfly. I've had conversations with homeless men and head honchos, however, I can't force it or fake it. If I'm not interested, I'm just not interested (why do people always want to talk when I've got my headphones in and it's before 9 AM. What do we have to talk about before 9 AM?) And if you're not interesting, I probably hate you.

You, my precious grasshoppers, should master small talk. Advertising is full of the most random group of attention seeking, socially awkward triviaphiles out there. (Is there a word for people who know a lot of random trivia? I made up triviaphiles.)

You should be able to own an elevator and make a client see your personality. (These are the two main times it matters: When you're stuck on the elevator with your boss's boss or before or after a client meeting, at a client dinner, on a shoot or out at a networking event.)

Here are some tips I gathered (aka copied and pasted) from these articles for us (I definitely need to learn) to get better at making small talk:

10 tips for making small talk




1. As you prepare for a function, come up with three things to talk about as well as four generic questions that will get others talking. If you've met the host before, try to remember things about her, such as her passion for a sport or a charity you're both involved in.

2. Be the first to say "Hello." If you're not sure the other person will remember you, offer your name to ease the pressure. For example, "Charles Bartlett? Lynn Schmidt -- good to see you again." Smile first and always shake hands when you meet someone.

3. Pay attention to what they're saying. When you're making small talk, follow up on phrases; for instance, if they say they're "excellent", ask why – ask where you can get some. If they mention that they're exhausted, follow up on it. When you're making small talk, remember that great conversations and good connections can be just around the corner.

4. Get the other person talking by leading with a common ground statement regarding the event or location and then asking a related open-ended question. For example, "Attendance looks higher than last year, how long have you been coming to these conventions?" You can also ask them about their trip in or how they know the host.

5. Stay focused on your conversational partner by actively listening and giving feedback. Maintain eye contact. Never glance around the room while they are talking to you.

6. Have something interesting to contribute. Keeping abreast of current events and culture will provide you with great conversation builders, leading with "What do you think of ...?" "Have you heard ...?" "What is your take on ...?" Stay away from negative or controversial topics, and refrain from long-winded stories or giving a lot of detail in casual conversation.

7. Ask what movies or books they've seen or read recently. Someone once asked me that at a party. Admittedly, at first it felt contrived, but then we had a fantastic conversation about the book I was reading! Making small talk is about trying new conversations.

8. Talk about TV. Share your favourite TV shows - whether it's Oprah's revelation of The Secret or the your favorite sitcom. If you're Canadian, Little Mosque on the Prairie might be interesting to discuss! Making small talk about pop culture is easy and fun.

9. Share an anecdote about your day. Did you lose your keys or find $10? Maybe you ate at a new restaurant recently, or found a great new CD. Making small talk is about sharing the little things.

10. Watch your body language. People who look ill at ease make others uncomfortable. Act confident and comfortable, even when you're not.

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