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Smalltalk provides adds to game lore and it is a means to acquire unique thingsrewards:

1. Trade Agents
2. Discounts for stations or traders
3. Location and skill visibility for hirable, well-skilled NPCs
Collecting Training Manuals

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1. with NPCs on purchases
2. Skill visibility for hirable NPCs
3. Virtual Seminars
   
   

Please follow the above links for details but in short:

1. Trade Agents provide up-to-date information on trades at stations.
2. Smalltalk discounts are different to other discounts so they are a stackable, additional option.
3. You can ask for info on the better-skilled NPCs in the area.
4. Virtual Seminars allow you to train one of your NPC's skills (addition of a star).
   
   

Note: While setting up your trade agent network it will be useful to at least scan the Administration dock of every station. This will enable you to target a dock with a guaranteed Engineer if you need one for emergency Skunk repairs in the future!

While <player> is docked on stations, NPCs will occasionally start talking, and when they do , a speech bubble appears over their head to help us identify them in a crowd.

This is our queue the cue to undertake an optional mini game minigame if we wish. There are quite a few conversational topic permutations conversation topics, from the mundane (eg chatting about holo dancersholodancers) to the serious (eg concerns about messing with AI). Since they add colour to the game world, they can be interesting.Unfortunately, ; unfortunately the discussions cannot be sped up or skipped and there are only a finite number, so in the end , it is possible to get frustrated by them. This is where the 'Boarderless Borderless Windowed mode' comes in handy as altAlt+tab Tab to (eg) a website cuts the audio but lets you see how things progress, if you keep the website window clear of the subtitles. Similarly, while hunting for Smalltalk, you can do the same thing to pass the time while waiting for someone to start speaking. That's what I do anyway 

Finding smalltalkssmalltalk

Since As the chance of an NPC talking is random and not all NPCs will necessarily be the kind you would like to talk to, it is sensible to find a spot with lots of NPCs to increase the chance of a useful one talking early. Smalltalk is available only once per NPC; if you enter smalltalk then win, lose or cancel the 'talk, that NPC will not proffer smalltalk again until you leave the zone

Good places to find groups of NPCs:

1. Generally, the bunk rooms Bunk rooms on all docks tend to hold up to ~6 ~8 NPCs so small talk smalltalk normally starts within 10-20 seconds.
2. Generally, Administration platforms house permanent unhirable station crew, which can help when recruiting Trade Agents.
3. In De Vries, a A handy place is the Engineering platform as groups of NPCs tend to be right at the docking platform., although there tend to be fewer NPCs per dock
4. In Albion or DeVries a handy good spot is the Trade platform since groups can may hang around at the end of the first corridor.
5. In Fields Of Opportunity|Verdant Profit|TU Overwatch, there are normally many Teladi in the main , central docking area.

If you 'encourage' an NPC trader by selling something to them, or preferably buying something from them, the chance of them smalltalking appears to increase slightly. So hunt out those junk dealers & buy scrap metal from them personally if you're after a decent ship crew! Simply talking to an NPC can increase the chance of smalltalk happening, even if you only ask the way to another NPC.

Potential rewards from success* at a :

level 1 smalltalk (numbers corresponding with radial menu):

1. Ask for: Discount... (a discount for the station unless If NPC is a Trader , than you could chose a discount with them insteadthey will offer a Personal discount for their wares (eg marines or rough gemstones) as well as a Station discount option (these are mutually exclusive); for all other NPCs the discount will apply to the (docked) station only - see below).
2. -not used-
3. Ask about: Job applicant Applicant (offers the location and skills of an NPC of a chosen type with the best, unknown skills, on their station's platform).a different NPC available to hire by <player> on the current dock). If no other hirable NPC exists this option will be unavailable
4. Trade Updates (see below as not all NPCS NPCs offer it); they unlock continuous, real-time market info for the NPC's station). This does not have the same effect as posession of Trading Computer sofware.
5. Give: Item... (give a craftable gift that unlocks level 2 of smalltalk).
6. -not used-

Level 2 smalltalk (only available via the "Give: Item" option in level 21)

1. Ask for: Discount... (a higher-quality version of the discount available at level 1 above)
2. -not used-
3. Ask about: Job applicant Applicant (different to level 1 and 3 smalltalks, so perhaps the range setting is station or possibly a higher-lvl NPC will be offered? - needs checking)
4. -not used-
5. Continue: Smalltalk (hard) (successful completion of a second smalltalk** unlocks unlocks level 2 of   (unlocks L3 smalltalk)
6. -not used-
   

Level 3 smalltalk smalltalk** (only available via level 2 smalltalk option 5)

1. Extended Discount. (lasts a long time; probably the same numerical discount as level 2)
2. -not used-
3. Best Job Applicant ** (offers the location and skills of an NPC of a chosen type with the best,  previously unknown skills, in the zoneZone)
4. Ask for: Employee training ... ((a semi-predictable source of Training Manuals Virtual Seminars - see below)
5. -not used-
6. -not used-

* A score of 7+ or more across 2 or more minigames that include no critical failures3 minigames. 8+ is required across the first 2 minigames to access L2 smalltalk (if you require 3 games the L2 'Give..' option is disabled)) 

** A score or of 4+ on each of 3 minigames.

Trade Agents

These will only be offered by a subset of NPCs.

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Discounts for stations or traders

A smalltalking NPC can offer a discount at their station, which offers higher profit margins if taken advantage of. If smalltalking with an NPC Trader (e.g. Blackmarketeer, Arms Dealer or Mechanic; maybe Recruitment Officers too), they will offer a choice of station or personal discounts. Station discounts from smalltalk apply on top of any other discounts, such as via Standings or those found outside stations while flying around nearby. Therefore they can all be stacked up to gain a higher profit margin than would otherwise be available. 

Location and skill visibility for hirable, well-skilled NPCs

I think these options can only point to NPCs with unknown skills so there could be other NPCs available to hire within range that won't be highlighted if their skills are already known. It makes sense to use these options where there are a lot of NPCs of the type you are interested in (e.g. see sidebar for zone, or station dock menu to check platforms or station population).

Collecting Training Manuals

These are only available via the craftable gift option after the first smalltalk and if the second smalltalk was completed with a score of 9 or 10 points. Good completion of the second smalltalk allows us to ask for 'Training Manuals', which are unique to Smalltalk. They are available for various potentially important skills, such as Engineering, Leadership and Morale. A Training Manual can be used to add one star to the related skill of one of your hired NPC's primary, bold-highlighted skills (e.g. only Engineering for Engineers), to a maximum of 5 stars. Exactly which Training Manual you may be offered relates to the primary skills of the NPC in question so it is somewhat random in the sense that it is random as to which NPC may begin a smalltalk.for all 3 minigames.