Small Talk

[Krissie]

Please tell me I'm not the only person in the world to absolutely abhor small talk. I seriously cannot stand it, and feeling the pressure to do it makes me want to avoid people :| I do not want to talk about how the weather has changed, what car you'd like to drive, or what kind of clothes you like to wear. And for the love of all things holy, please do not start gossiping about celebrities!

[LiamAU]

I'm not really a fan of it as it makes the conversation feel so fake. :3 I have to admit though, I tend to just ask random questions and strike topics that come to mind at the time to get the conversation rolling. Besides, it's less awkward than saying "so do you like stuff" haha :P

[lostinthought9]

Yeah, I'm generally bad at small talk too, but that's just because I'm an introvert. But once I get to know you, I open up. Lol.

[Filip]

I don't like smalltalk for extended periods. If I'm still talking about the weather after ten minutes, I'm having the feeling I'd rather spend my time elsewhere.

Though I do feel it's usefl to just start talking. And: "It's rather rainy today and it doesn't look like it's getting better" is a safer lead-in than: "let's discuss politics"

The trick is just to see it as an opening ritual and steer the conversation to a more substantial topic.

[heatqueen]

Lol, my least favourite conversation to have with anyone:

"Hi"
"Hi"
"How are you?"
"Good thanks you?"
"Good thanks"
End of conversation.

BORING.

[Bevo]

I don't agree at all, there is nothing important than the art of conversation. So-called 'Smalltalk' is very useful to lead to more interesting conversations, you'll find that if you know how to converse well, getting to know people comes very easliy. On it's own it may not seem very important but conversation is a rich tapestry of many components and smalltalk is just one part of it.

[Owen]

Yep, I abhor small talk too, mostly because, as an introvert, I find time spent with people tiring. In my experience, small talk with strangers often doesn't lead to better conversation, which is why I don't like it. If I'm going to expend the energy to talk to you, I don't want to talk about inconsequential topics that will lead to a conversation that will make our days no different from if we hadn't had that conversation.

Originally Posted by Filip

The trick is just to see it as an opening ritual and steer the conversation to a more substantial topic.

That's exactly why I don't mind small talk with people I'm close to: because it usually leads to more substantial conversation. That substantial conversation is what keeps me coming back to this socializing thing you extroverts are always raving about and what keeps me from becoming a hermit.

[Krissie]

Originally Posted by heatqueen

Lol, my least favourite conversation to have with anyone:

"Hi"
"Hi"
"How are you?"
"Good thanks you?"
"Good thanks"
End of conversation.

BORING.

lol, I've had this conversation many times. It stalls and just feels incredibly awkward.

[IsItSo]

I'm terrible at small talk.

[Cynic]

Originally Posted by heatqueen

Lol, my least favourite conversation to have with anyone:

"Hi"
"Hi"
"How are you?"
"Good thanks you?"
"Good thanks"
End of conversation.

I think you just successfully replicated 95% of the conversations I've had in the timespan of my life up to this point.

Fuck me, that is pretty saddening.

[x2x2x2x2y2]

Originally Posted by Krissie

Please tell me I'm not the only person in the world to absolutely abhor small talk. I seriously cannot stand it, and feeling the pressure to do it makes me want to avoid people :| I do not want to talk about how the weather has changed, what car you'd like to drive, or what kind of clothes you like to wear. And for the love of all things holy, please do not start gossiping about celebrities!

I was with you up until the "do not start gossiping about celebrities!" part. lol I like talking about celebs.

Small talk with fam is ok. With others it's just weird, but I guess somewhat necessary if you want to get to know someone.

[Z3ni]

I hate the weather thing.. " Nice weather today.." " Ermm yeah "

---------- Post added 14th Oct 2010 at 12:21 AM ----------

Originally Posted by heatqueen

Lol, my least favourite conversation to have with anyone:

"Hi"
"Hi"
"How are you?"
"Good thanks you?"
"Good thanks"
End of conversation.

BORING.

Isn't that more like greeting.. Or.. is it just me o.o

[Owl47]

I used to hate it, but then I realized my introvertedness was an excuse for my laziness. It definitely helps with building relationships, practicing communication skills, etc. Even though it may seem fake, it's much better than saying virtually nothing.

Of course, I still get lazy sometimes and want nothing to do with people.

[yourillusion]

Originally Posted by Owl47

I used to hate it, but then I realized my introvertedness was an excuse for my laziness. It definitely helps with building relationships, practicing communication skills, etc. Even though it may seem fake, it's much better than saying virtually nothing.

Of course, I still get lazy sometimes and want nothing to do with people.

I'm the exact same way! Sometimes I get happy that I've gotten to be decent at it. Then I get mad at myself for being happy about something so empty. haha. Do you ever get that?

[tijuana212]

Oh god, I'm so glad I'm not the only one who despises this "small talk" junk. I prefer it when it ends immediately. Being forced to carry these kinds of fake conversations for extended periods of time is painful. I actually drag myself out of the present moment and put Me on auto-pilot and just start talking to myself in my mind after a while.

Thankfully, I'm a master at the stuff when I'm on auto-pilot. Complete extraction of personality from conversation, and you're good to go.

Because of my hatred for it, I seldom use small talk to invoke a conversation. I usually open up conversations with "strangers" by making some sassy comment about a mutual friend. Come to think of it, it's the only method I use to make friends. :P

[Frer3]

I want to talk about things that matter. Like love, religion, and politics. don't waste my time with Lindsay Lohan.

[Revan]

I must say I am half and half about small talk...sometimes I love it, but other times I hate it. I hate it namely because of my autism, I feel small talk makes me a little paranoid that the person I'm talking with doesn't really want to talk to me...

[otc877]

This is the reason I quit my first job (customer service). I HATED small talk. I had to have small talk with a new person every couple minutes or so.

It got to the point where I couldn't be engaging anymore, and the week before I quit I would just ignore their small talk and give them the total/return total.

I love my job now, I've spoken to two customers in 4 months working there

[Krissie]

Originally Posted by otc877

This is the reason I quit my first job (customer service). I HATED small talk. I had to have small talk with a new person every couple minutes or so.

It got to the point where I couldn't be engaging anymore, and the week before I quit I would just ignore their small talk and give them the total/return total.

I love my job now, I've spoken to two customers in 4 months working there

Oh nice, where do you work now?

[malachite]

I'm with you 110%
I often mock it when people try to make small talk with me.
"If you ask me about the local sports team, I swear I'll stab you with a pen."