On the list of things that people hate, making small talk ranks right in between Congress and receiving spam. Small talk can be awkward, uncomfortable and even intimidating. After all, there are far ...

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 ...

For Gen Z, a growing confidence crisis means common workplace interactions are now a major source of anxiety. Working with ...

Charles Duhigg, author of "The Power of Habit," argues that small talk isn't an innate skill, but rather a learned behavior that can be studied and crafted to perfectly suit any situation — whether ...

American author and entrepreneur Keith Ferrazzi says this in his book Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time: “The best way to become good at small talk is not to ...

In a recent article for Wired magazine, Kristin Berman and behavioral economist Dan Ariely share their experience hosting a dinner party with one key rule: “Absolutely no small talk.” Apparently, the ...

Get inspired by a weekly roundup on living well, made simple. Sign up for CNN’s Life, But Better newsletter for information and tools designed to improve your well-being. You’re standing in line at ...

We’ve all been there. Whether it’s checking out at a store or trying to lull the awkwardness when meeting someone new, small talk has been used by all of us. For some people, having these little ...

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 ...

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 ...

Nobody really likes small talk and it's certainly one of the more boring tasks we all go through. While a lot of small talk is based only on the fact you're standing next to someone and have to say ...