Small Talk

“Small talk is not the same as chit chat, where your motive is to learn a little bit about the person and find a topic to converse on in more depth. Talking about nothing doesn’t have a learning or information gathering motive. It’s purely a social thing in which you connect on a feeling level.”

Source: “Socially Curious and Curiously Social” by Michelle G. Winner & Pamela Crooke

While small talk may seem perplexing, there’s logic behind this social practice. Here are some helpful resources:

• Wikipedia‘s comprehensive overview of small talk
• Some Thoughts On The Point Of Small Talk (Succeed Socially)
• How to Master the Art of Small Talk – key points guide
• XKCD Comic on small talk
• Star Trek: The Next Generation. Data learns “small talk” by interacting with the master of small talk, Commander Hutchinson (video)

Time to progress beyond small talk? Read on how people cooperate in conversations.