An acquaintance approaches you and says joyously:
“What news on the rialto?”
You check your surroundings and confirm you are not in 16th century Venice. You decide to ignore the unusual phrasing and reply with:
“Nothing much, weather is awful isn’t it?”
Whether as your colleague beside you responds with:
“Ah Horatio, you look like a million ducats!”
The two of them laugh their heads off and leave you behind as they go off on a Shakespearean tangent together.
I’ve found an easy way to build rapport is to reply in kind to the conversation starter. To find someone’s level and match it.
Thomas Duggan 