How Can I Learn Enough About Sports to Talk to Others?

Dear Lifehacker,Everyone talks about sports at the office.

How can I learn just enough to be sociable without wasting a ton of time?

Usually, the most timely events (e.g., mainstream playoffs coverage) air early on in the show.

If you tune in to your local news, it might also broadcast remarkable highlights for local teams.

you’ve got the option to also try an app for your smartphone likeESPN’s SportsCenterand Yahoo!

Sports apps (foriOSandAndroid).

Here are lists of the best sports apps foriOSandAndroid.

Believe it or not, many conversations about sports go deeper than just the actual games.

Sports are a form of entertainment.

As such, having conversations about sports will naturally involve the culture surrounding the sport.

Who knows, you might find a sport you’re interested in.

Position Yourself as the Amateur

Everybody starts somewhere.

Position yourself as the amateur so that your colleagues can be helpful and share knowledge with you.

Ask questions or for their opinions.

Questions like, “Who are your top five NBA guards of all time?”

could be an interesting conversation starter for a group of colleagues.

Better yet, it requires little maintenance from your end.

They won’t mind asyou ask more questions.

With that said, it’s important to have a rudimentary understanding of the basics.

You don’t want to ask anyone to explain concepts like a penalty.

I’m a disgraceful Canadian).

A few of my friends are in an NBA fantasy league.

Although it might just look like a simple leaderboard of who has the highest scores, fantasy changes everything.

you’ve got the option to make trades with them.

The conversation topics are endless.

This is a deeper dive into the culture and history of a sport.

Sam Sheridan’s book,The Fighter’s Mind, is a great primer on fighting and psychology.

These are elements of sports that you’re able to’t glean even spending hours watching games.

Those are just a few ways to give sports a try.

you could either maintain a passing interest in it, just enough to relate to colleagues.

Even trying out just a couple of these four tactics should enable you to relate to sports-crazed colleagues better.

It helps to pick one sport and start there.

Don’t force yourself to like things you don’t actually like.

Sincerely,Lifehacker

Title photo made usingKaterina Davidenko(Shutterstock) andLaralova(Shutterstock).

Photos byChad Cooper,Rob Poetsch,Play Among Friends Paf,Erik Drost, andPedro Ribeiro Simoes.