Think about what it's like to be at a birthday dinner where you have to interact with your friend's neighbors for the first time, or what it's like to be waiting for a Zoom to begin with coworkers you hardly know. In cases like these where you're not super familiar with your company, you've likely had to lean on small talk to get you through the silence.

Because making small talk excludes big, potentially controversial topics like politics, religion, and a person's love life, however, the concept of small talk has a bad rap. Most people, in fact, try to avoid the dreadful, surface-level conversation entirely because it feels forced (or because they don't know how to make small talk in the first place).

But small talk is actually more powerful than we give it credit. "Small talk lays the groundwork for deeper, more meaningful connections," etiquette expert Thomas P. Farley, also known as Mister Manners, says.

Below, Farley and another etiquette expert shares tips on how to make small talk and offer up some safe small talk topics. Trust, whether it be in your next Uber or at a wedding, you'll feel confident engaging in small talk without bringing up how hot it is outside.

Small talk is "exchanging pleasantries with those we encounter in passing," explains Farley. "It's a way of finding commonalities with people we meet and spend time with, whether socially or in business." Whether it's about the weather or your local sport's team, small talk is a type of conversation that people are forced to have in a variety of different circumstances.

Whenever you're just not sure what will go over well with your audience, you're probably in a moment or place where small talk is the most appropriate type of conversation. According to etiquette expert Daniel Post Senning, the great-great grandson of Emily Post and co-author of "Emily Post's Etiquette," a few instances in which small talk is called for would be:

When in doubt, "If you're putting on clothes that you don't wear every day, that's a good indicator to have a little more discretion in terms of how you conduct yourself," Senning says.

That said, it's likely you can recall a moment in which you had to make conversation with someone you barely knew and racked your mind for the best topic to get the ball rolling. This brings you to the next step of small talk: understanding how to small talk.

The easiest go-to small talk topic, of course, is the weather. It's acceptable, sure, but it's also predictable and perhaps the dullest of small-talk topics, Farley says. "Unless there is a tornado or blizzard on the way, the weather is simply not a creative way of sustaining conversation," he points out. "How many of us truly find 'Hot enough for ya?' fascinating fodder for discussion?"

Fortunately, there are plenty of small-talk topics that are perfectly safe and count as small talk that aren't so general that your eyes glaze over even as you're bringing them up. Here are a few strategies for drumming up small talk that will actually help the conversation.

The most traditional advice on small talk is that it should stem from your immediate shared experience with a conversation partner, explains Senning. In addition to weather and traffic, which fall under this category, you could also talk about the food or drinks you're enjoying together, the decor of the room you're in, or, in the case of a Zoom call with coworkers, you can talk about how slammed everyone is with deadlines.

Some small-talk questions to use in these circumstances could include "What're you drinking?" and "Wow, have you ever been here before? The venue is beautiful."

A guaranteed way to be enthusiastic about what you're talking about is to focus on personal interests. "The safest thing to do in a conversation is ask people small-talk questions about their interests and hobbies," says Senning. "And have some things that you're interested in, that you like to talk about."

Some of the safest hobbies or interests to discuss could be the hottest new Netflix series or how a local sports team is doing. But it's also OK to rely on a subject that your conversation partner might be less familiar with. "If you love to talk about golf, talk about golf," says Senning. "If you love to talk about yoga, talk about yoga. If you love to talk about particle physics or the opera, you can share about these things in ways that are accessible to other people and interesting to other people."

Senning encourages people to be curious in their small-talk conversations. For example, you might ask small-talk questions like, "What are your summer travel plans?" or "What are you working on right now that has you especially excited?" Asking open-ended questions can lead to lively small talk.

You can also make an observation about the other person. "Inquiries about an interesting piece of jewelry or accessory the person is wearing are great starters, as those items are typically worn with the desire that they be noticed," Farley says. You might say something like, "I love that scarf — it reminds me of the ones I've seen at one of my favorite shops in Tokyo."

Simple conversation etiquette moves have stood the test of time because they really are that useful to keeping the conversation going — even if it is small talk. Some of these moves include making eye contact, facing the people you're talking to, standing upright, maintaining a neutral or even positive facial expression, and/or nodding your head — all of which conveys that you're present and available, according to Senning. These moves "go a long, long way to make people feel seen, heard, and cared about," he notes.