We rely on small talk like this, and being good at it is even seen as a mark of conversational competence. Yet its content ...

Some professionals shudder at the idea of “small talk,” but it can be a powerful tool for building rapport with people you’re meeting for the first time—and for opening doors at networking events. A ...

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 ...

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 ...

Chitchatting about the weather or exchanging niceties may feel superficial and like a waste of time. But if done right, small talk might help you with your career. Researchers who have studied small ...

If you've ever had the unfortunate experience of saying the wrong thing at a staff meeting or a friend's housewarming party, you know just how easy it is to bungle small talk. The commonplace ...

It's easy to say, "I'm not good at small talk" and simply try to ignore it, Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit argues that small talk isn't an innate skill, but rather a learned behavior.

Learning how to get better at small talk might not seem like much of a conversational superpower. Arguably everyone’s least favorite part of socializing, surface-level chitchat can be awkward, ...

Springfest, USC’s annual concert for the Spring semester, featured student acts such as Small Talk, who showed off their collaborative talent. (Srikar Kolluru / Daily Trojan) Corbin Berghoff, a ...

In a world where our digital devices have become extensions of ourselves, it’s no surprise that we often immerse ourselves in screens rather than engage with the world and people around us. From ...

Most people will tell you they hate small talk. It can feel awkward, especially when it steers to that blandest of topics, the weather. We turn to the weather when we can’t think of anything else to ...