Does your boss love western classical music? Zane Dalal shares tips on making small talk

Making small talk if your boss is a western classical music aficionado could be a bit difficult. So we checked if there's a cheat's guide.

Zane Dalal, conductor-in-residence, Symphony Orchestra of India feels there isn't. There are no cliff notes (summaries of longer works) or precis of novels to fall back on. But he does add, "Your feelings or observations about the music are equally valid to anyone else's and there is no correct experience beyond your gut reaction. Don't be scared to talk to your boss about anything. If he is the listening sort, it will be fine."

And if he is not, drawing some analogies would do you good. "If it's all gone 'belly up' you can always talk about how symphony orchestras are an excellent business model for the psychology of teamwork," he says. Try this out at the next coffee break with the top brass.