IT DEPENDS ON THE OCCASION
Small talk can lead to a great gift: New acquaintances or even friendship. However, small talk can also mean wasted time. Too bad.
A plea to do things differently
Many of us spend the time between the years with family and friends. In tuxedos and evening dresses, as a social event or cozy in a Christmas sweater to enjoy a Hollywood classic like Holiday (The Sister of the Bride). A movie that is also about small talk versus conversations where you actually get to know the other person and their dreams.
A plea to forget small talk during the precious hours and days. You could easily spend the entire holiday season doing this, but it would be wasted time.
Time in which we miss out on finding out how the other person is really doing, what has bothered them in the year that is coming to an end and what hopes they have for the coming year.
Courage
It takes courage to dispense with small talk and ask direct questions compared to effortless small talk. You can tell by the reaction of the eyes when a question has hit you right in the heart and the other person has to think for seconds about what the answer actually is.
The answers are often surprising and sometimes lead to a much better understanding or a deeper friendship.
Giving vent to the heart
Instead of chatting about the snow or the beach from your last vacation, it helps to vent your heart and talk about what may have hurt or upset you.
If openness is met with irritation and rejection, you will have more space in your calendar for others who value closeness and empathy instead of generalities.
You always get smarter and it doesn’t have to be tactless. It doesn’t have to be in large groups or a cruel all-round attack – we prefer to enjoy Scandinavian movie classics at the cinema.
Indispensable elsewhere
Some loyal GloriousMe readers may remember our article on networking for introverts. For them and for everyone else, small talk can be a wonderful door opener.
Small talk makes a lot of sense in larger groups, at various events, celebrations or congresses. Not just sticking to the familiar faces at the bar table, but consciously approaching new people and relying on small talk opens the door to many interesting encounters.
GloriousMe has been lucky enough to learn a lot of interesting new things in the year that is drawing to a close by dispensing with small talk. We also learned that some people want nothing more than small talk. It’s also good that we can better invest our time in people and topics that really matter to us in the future.
We wish you many new encounters, including with people you have known for a long time, and new encounters in the coming days and throughout the new year.
Cover picture from the movie: Holiday (1938) Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn @ Alamy Stock Photo
