Ah, XCKD in all its glory. So brilliant I tell you. However this brings me straight into my topic. I’ve always wondered why Western society places so much emphasis on inane small talk. If you think about it, it’s actually just really silly, yet somehow it prevails.
It seems like small talk has some sort of modicum of judgement in it, which determines how much you like certain people. Say for instance I meet this cool new chick. We start chatting and then suddenly we run out of topics. Then the awkward silence eggs out its big fat head and then the whole universe could swallow you up right there and then. You, or the other person, is to blame for this lull in the conversation and uncomfortable situation.
I find it silly that whenever there is company you have to talk. When people start talking about the weather I just want to curl up in a ball die of a cringe attack. It’s such superficial nonsense. It tries to keep up some sort activity, just cause activity signifies a degree of interest. Screw that! I’d rather watch other people, or not talk at all. Make something else up. Now you see this is where it gets contradictory for me.
Small talk shouldn’t always be about mundane every day subjects: weather, what happened in your day etc. For me the measure how good a conversation is going is how creative the other person is and there willingness to debate and run with anything. Also any strong opinion is good. A differing opinion is not always a sign of disagreeing interests, it shows you’re proud of who you are. That’s the way it should be.
The best people however are those who can think quickly and like I said produce creative conversation. If I can talk to someone for a really long time about the benefits of a toilet that can be converted into a shower (which me and my friends incidentally did last night at the pub) is to me, of much more value than talking factual things. Yes, of course you can mix news or gossip into the things, but you can’t talk about those things forever, thus a creative talker is much more valued.
I hope I got my point across. What’s your view on small talk? Is its importance overhyped?
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