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 ...

People who can't handle small often come off as rude, but there's something deeper under the surface. There’s a big difference between someone who’s antisocial and someone who just doesn’t enjoy small ...

The ability to engage in small talk is a superpower for succeeding in a job interview and advancing your career growth. The ability to engage in small talk is a superpower for succeeding in a job ...

“Hi, I’m Ella! Look at my teeth! They’re grown-up teeth. I have a baby sister, and her name is Zoe. We come to this playground sometimes when we’re visiting my grandma in Florida. It’s my favorite ...

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 ...

Haupt is a health and wellness editor at TIME. Haupt is a health and wellness editor at TIME. When Gillian Sandstrom was a graduate student in Toronto more than a decade ago, she encountered a ...

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, ...