Pro tip - continue the casual conversation after the initial question. For a few reasons:
* If you do the social chat and then ask the question it really feels like you're buttering the person up and not being genuine.
* If you do the casual chat after, it allows the person responding more freedom of when to reply. E.g. they know the important work stuff is out of the way and now it can be a slower casual chat.
* If you do the social chat and then ask the question it really feels like you're buttering the person up and not being genuine.
* If you do the casual chat after, it allows the person responding more freedom of when to reply. E.g. they know the important work stuff is out of the way and now it can be a slower casual chat.