Unlike other work events, the holiday party is one that most people actually attend. It's an opportunity to meet new people, and gives you face-time with pretty much everyone in the company, from the CEO to the most recent hire. That means you'd be smart to show up prepared.

不像其他工作活动，节日聚会大多数人都会参加。这是一个认识新朋友的机会，也给你与公司里从首席执行官到新员工面对面的机会。这意味着你要聪明些，参加时需做好准备。

You're looking for shared interests, shared experiences, and really any commonality you could use to strike up a conversation. Once you've done that, you'll be ready to use any of her favorite questions and talking points, which we've compiled below.

你在寻找共同的兴趣、经历，以及任何能用来打开话头的共同点。一旦你找到了，你将可以选任何她喜欢和想谈论的问题，这些问题我们已经写在下面了。

Conversation Starters for Company Leaders

和公司领导聊的话题

1. I read that you went to...

1. 我看到你去了……

Your go-to conversation starter should be something that demonstrates your interest in the person you're talking to. Plenty of things can work. "I read a report that you contributed to" or "I read a blog that you wrote." Both are flattering and open-ended, likely to generate a conversation rather than a simple yes or no response.

你起头的话题应该能表现出你对谈话人感兴趣。很多事情都可以说。“我读了一份你参与撰写的报告”或“我读了你写的博客”。都是夸奖和开放式的话题，很可能会聊得开，而不是简单回答“是”或“不是”。

2. How did you get into the industry?

2. 你是怎么进入这个行业的?

A favorite topic is how they got where they are today. Because of that, this question is particularly good for striking up a conversation with the CEO or another high-level company member. People enjoy talking about themselves, and they enjoy reminiscing about what brought them to the work in the first place.

一个很不错的话题是问对方如何达到了今天的成就。正因如此，这个问题特别适合问首席执行官或公司高层。人们喜欢谈论自己，他们也喜欢追忆是什么让他们最初选择了这份工作。

3. What's one of your goals for 2014?

3. 2014年你有什么目标?

Another talking point with the CEO and top execs is goals for the upcoming year. Asking this will help you understand what's most important to the company and its leaders on a more personal level. Plus, once you know them, you can think about how to align your own goals with theirs.

另一个与首席执行官和高层谈论的的话题是新年目标。这将帮助你在个人层面上更了解什么对公司及其领导人最重要。另外，一旦你了解他们，你可以考虑如何把自己的目标和他们的联系起来。

4. What was the best piece of advice that you got early on in your career?

4. 在你职业生涯早期得到的最好的经验是什么?

This query is a bit cliche, but says it's still an effective way of connecting with higher-ups. You can ask for advice, insight, wisdom. All of these will come off as flattering to the recipient.

这个问题有些老套，但它仍然是一个与上级沟通的有效方式。你可以寻求建议、见解和智慧。所有这些都是在夸奖对方。

Conversation Starters for Anyone

和所有人聊的话题

5. What's one of your favorite parts of this job?

5. 这份工作让你最喜欢的部分是什么?

This is a good conversation starter for anyone in the office. It's about work, but also personal enough to generate a real discussion of things people like and value. And you might find that you care about the same things as the person you're talking with.

这个话题和办公室里任何人都聊得起来。它和工作有关，但足以私人到真正讨论人们喜欢和重视的东西。而且你可能会发现你和对方都关心同样的事情。

6. Have you seen any movies? What have you read lately?

6. 你看过什么电影?你最近读过什么书?

The best part about these questions is that they create endless follow-up questions. For example, if your coworker recently saw "Captain Phillips" you can ask what he thought of it. If you've seen it too, you can have an entire discussion of it.

这些问题最棒的部分在于它们产生了无尽的延伸话题。例如，如果你的同事最近看了《菲利普斯船长》，你可以问他有什么评价。如果你也看了，你们可以全面讨论下。

7. Did you take a vacation this year? Where did you go?

7. 你今年去度假了吗?去了哪里?

If you're looking for a friendly topic that anyone would enjoy, vacation is it. Everyone loves to talk about time off. It doesn't matter if they traveled or stayed home — asking about vacation will help you learn what your coworkers enjoy doing and how they unwind away from the office.

如果你正在找一个人人都喜欢的友好话题，那就是度假了。每个人都喜欢谈论工作以外的时间。不管他们是旅游或呆在家里——问旅游的情况将帮助你了解你的同事喜欢做什么以及他们离开办公室后是如何放松的。