Skip the Small Talk

While I agree with the University of Arizona researchers who performed the study that ‘the happy life is social and conversationally deep rather than solitary and superficial,’ the conclusions that media have taken from the study—that small talk leaves people unhappy—is misplaced. It is the inability many people have to meaningfully connect with others that leaves them unhappy and socially isolated.

I base my views on nearly 30 years of teaching and writing on the subject of small talk and conversation. It is my experience that far from making people unhappy, small talk serves the following critical roles to creating meaningful conversations and relationships:

I maintain that small talk is an important skill to bridge that gap and a prerequisite for more substantive conversations.

Don Gabor is communications trainer and author of How to Start a Conversation and Make Friends. He can be reached for further comments on this subject at 718-768-0824, via email at don@dongabor.com or visit his website, http://www.dongabor.com.