The Cambridge Business Dictionary defines “small talk” as “polite conversation about things that are not important.” What this does not tell you is that it is a learnable skill, and the key to unlocking the door to professional advancement.

At a meeting on social mobility hosted by the Lord Mayor’s Appeal, the boss of an investment firm said about discussing art, philosophy and books that she hadn’t read, “I was smart enough to do the job but lost my voice in those conversations.”