Small talk has a long history. No telling how far it goes back, really, but at some point, Anglo-Saxon societies established it as a ritual of civility. Exchanging a few banalities was part of the social code – a way of signaling both politeness and boundaries.
In our tech-dominated world, which often tends to isolate people, it’s more important than ever to be able to start a conversation or casually chat with people you encounter in everyday life.
Lisa Terry, MSW, LCSW, says, “I’ve been hearing some variation of the same observation from my clients for 30 years. They suffer anxiety about going into public places, are lonely, and isolate except to go out to run errands…