What is the difference between a boring conversation and a lively one? Comedian Chris Duffy says if you want to skip the small talk, try using these improv principles. To hear more of Duffy, check out ...

Creating conversations is how we create relationships, so where would our conversations at work, networking events, or elsewhere be without small talk? Would we have found our best friend, special ...

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 ...

Founders rarely admit it, but the moments that make or break your reputation often aren’t in pitch meetings or investor updates. They happen in the tiny in-between spaces. The hallway chats before ...

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 ...

Why are some people so good at small talk? Able to instantly engage with people they've just met, make their conversation partner feel at ease and like the most important person in the room? Able to ...

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 ...

Nick Enfield does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their ...

When Gillian Sandstrom was a graduate student in Toronto more than a decade ago, she encountered a stranger on the subway who was carrying a scrumptious-looking cupcake. Sandstrom had long considered ...

There’s a big difference between someone who’s antisocial and someone who just doesn’t enjoy small talk. While some people thrive on quick chats about the weather or weekend plans, others feel their ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Dr. Cheryl Robinson covers areas of leadership, pivoting and careers. How do you prevent small talk during meetings so it doesn’t ...

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 ...