So, Some Weather We've Been Having, Huh?

"Hey, great to meet you," I said, shaking the young man's hand.
"Thanks."
"So, did you find the place OK?"
"Yeah, I did."
"Must be a busy time of year for you, huh?"
"I suppose."
"Okaaay... well, let's get rolling with your interview then...."

 So much for building rapport....

Advice

First, let me state emphatically that no-one ever got denied acceptance to a college (probably) for not being affable. Some applicants are introverted and shy--and that's expected.

But, let's be honest: College admissions interviews are awkward enough. For both you and your interviewer. If you can engage your interviewer in a little light small talk before the interview actually starts, it'll have multiple effects:

• Set you at ease. It's easier talking about yourself and jumping into the interview if you've already been chatting with your interviewer for the past 5 minutes while standing in line for coffee. Plus, the reverse (standing silently in line next to your interviewer while you wait to place your drink order can be excruciating. For everyone. Trust me.)
• Set your college interviewer at ease. Believe it or not, it can be nerve-wracking meeting and interviewing someone for the first time. What if you don't ask the right question--or ask something stupid? What if you both end up staring at one another without anything to say? What if (horror!) your interviewee thinks you're a loser and it reflects badly on your school? If you can engage your interviewer in some small talk, it'll set him/her at ease--you're not going to be a disastrous interview after all!
• Establish rapport. The trick of great salespeople is identifying something they have in common with their client and creating a sense of rapport with that person. Beyond simply setting both of you at ease, engaging in small talk can help establish rapport.

So what to do? The basics are simple--if asked something "So, how was your drive over here," respond with something more than "fine" ("Fine--I think I beat cross-town traffic by about 30 minutes. I know it can get bad this time of day.") This can give your interviewer something easy to follow up with ("Tell me about it--I normally have to fight my way through that every day...") and suddenly, voila! It's not exciting--you're talking about traffic--but you're talking, and that's the point.

For added oomph, just finish every reply you make with a question. ("...I know it can get bad this time of day. Do you have to commute much during rush hour?") and you're guaranteed to keep the conversation going.

But, what happens if you get there, meet your college interviewer, and stare blankly at each other? Easy--toss up a softball to prompt some small talk. Three that can't miss:

Weather/season/time of year. Talking about the weather sounds trite (and it is), but it's a can't-miss option. Examples: "Boy, it's sure gotten cold in the past week", "It seems like it's been raining for three weeks straight?", etc... you get the idea. (Everyone complains about the weather, but so few people do anything about it...). Another variant of this is the time of the year--talk about the fact that it's almost the holidays, you can't believe how quickly fall semester is going at school, it doesn't seem like it's possible that it's already nearly Thanksgiving, etc.
 
Part of town. This is another easy topic--talk about the part of town you're meeting in. Examples: "I don't get downtown much, so this is a special treat for me" "Wow, it's been a while since I've gotten out to this area--I can't believe how much things have changed" "Do you work around here? I come to this area a lot because there's a great diner just down the street". It's pretty easy to toss out some innocuous comment about where you are--even if it's "This is a cool part of town--I've never been over here before", it should get conversation flowing.

School/classes/sports. When in doubt, just throw out something about school or classes--or even your high school (or local) football team. "I'm glad I made it on time--practice almost ran a little late" or "I've really been looking forward to this interview. School work has been so busy lately that I haven't had much of a chance to breathe, so meeting with you is a great chance to get out of the grind for a few minutes" "I don't know if you saw it or not, but our school just won our 10th game of the season--it looks like we made it to the playoffs". Tossing out something about school is also a great segue into the actual interview for your interviewer.

Again, if you're not a natural chit-chatter, that's fine--no one is really grading you on your ability to make small talk. But, as with anything in life, a little preparation and forethought and you'll be able to handle those first few (potentially awkward) minutes of your interview with grace and style.   ----------CJ