Is Small Talk Really Necessary?

The second of two summer reruns, this post also originally ran in September 2022.

“Small talk is the driving force behind gaining new clients, getting along with coworkers, impressing the boss and maintaining existing partnerships. Using this type of easy conversation forces you to build connections with people on a deeper level, giving you the chance to make a positive impact in someone’s life.”  So says Vaspian, a cloud-based phone systems company, on its website.

The view of small talk as a form of social bonding goes back to the work of anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski in the 1920s.  Whether in Europe or Melanesia, he explained, “purposeless expressions, accounts of irrelevant happenings, and comments on what is perfectly obvious” have the function of establishing “bonds of fellowship” and easing the awkwardness of encountering another person.  Simply put, small talk greases human interaction.

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