In the journalism world, we have “elevator pitches.” You have thirty seconds to tell the Editor-in-Chief why your story matters. If you start with a dry, technical explanation, their eyes glaze over before you hit the fourth floor. Socializing is the same. Most people treat small talk like a script they have to read. “So, what do you do?” “Where are you from?” “Busy week?” These aren’t conversations; they’re interrogations. They are the “boilerplate” text that everyone ignores. 1. The “Hook” Strategy A good news story starts with a hook—a detail that grabs the reader and won’t let go. In conversation, you need to replace “The Question” with “The Observation.”…