Today’s guest post is by Peppercommer Matt “Mark” Purdue.

If you’re anything like me, the holidays are filled with one awkward social gathering after another. From potlucks to family dinners, coming up with an interesting way to start a conversation feels like sitting on a Christmas ornament.

I’ve tried opening with this: “So can you tell me what you’ve been doing for the past 11 months in 50 words or less?” But this doesn’t seem to raise the level of holiday cheer.

Ah, the art of conversation. At Peppercomm, we know how tough it can be to start a conversation. That’s why we counsel clients to first listen to the conversations around them, and then – and only then – join in conversations their target audiences are already having. Oh, and bring something really interesting to say.

One of the best examples I see comes from Waze Mobile, developer of the Waze crowdsourced navigation and traffic-alert app. (Full disclosure: Waze is not a Peppercomm client.) Waze has jumped into the marketing conservation of the season – about the debut of Star Wars: The Force Awakens – in the most clever way. Not another promotion to win movie tickets, a toy giveaway or a trick that screams, “You have to download us! We’re so cool!” Instead, Waze enables users to set their turn-by-turn directions in the voice of C3PO, the punctilious-yet-loveable droid from the movie series. (Check out this video from Yahoo.)

Waze obviously gets it. Instead of shoving a me-too Star Wars promotion down our maws like yet another overcooked latke, Waze has come up with a unique way to enter into the conversation among Star Wars fans.

Now if only I could do the same at the company Festivus party.