By Rosemary Ravinal There’s something about spring. The days get longer and the energy shifts. Flowers bloom, birds pair up, ...

Small talk has been a pain point for me for years, but it sank to new lows at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. I was at the playground one day, sweating in a K-95 while pushing my maskless ...

“So many people—myself included—avoid small talk, dread networking events, and assume that certain topics just won’t be ...

Small talk may be the most maligned category of conversation. For many, it's a time-waster with no redeeming qualities other than mindless chatter. Yet, when properly understood and applied, small ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. ‘If you think small talk is boring, that may be a skill issue.’Illustration: Guardian Design/Panther Media Global/Alamy ...

Do you dread trading niceties with retail clerks and assorted other strangers when you are out in public? Do you go out of your way to avoid neighbors and co-workers so that you do not have to engage ...

Think about what it's like to be at a birthday dinner where you have to interact with your friend's neighbors for the first time, or what it's like to be waiting for a Zoom to begin with coworkers you ...

One feature of working in a physical office is that you bump into colleagues all the time. If you find yourself with a coworker in the break room, on the elevator, or waiting for a meeting to start, ...

Small talk is the bread and butter of social interaction. Without it, we would not be making friends, building trust in new acquaintances, easing into deeper conversations or navigating unfamiliar ...

Small talk is a fact of life. And while some people are naturals, the rest of us struggle to know what to say during casual chit-chat. Those awkward silences grow painful, and leave you feeling like a ...

Why do humans make small talk? We spend a lot of time worrying about how to chit-chat amusingly, or how to be captivating. We complain when it seems trivial or a waste of time. And we bemoan the ...

We’ve all been there. Whether it’s checking out at a store or trying to lull the awkwardness when meeting someone new, small talk has been used by all of us. For some people, having these little ...