The big deal about small talk

Fewh, trying to get back into the swing of things with blogging is proving to be harder than I thought but I guess like most things it's always a matter of discipline...

Today got me thinking about the way 'small talk' works. I'll skip over the dictionary definition because most of us would know what it is. It's basically just talking about random things. From something as mundane as the weather perhaps to other things like cooking and the football match on tv last night. 

Having been in Melbourne for 5 years and then coming back here has given me a culture shock in this sense. 

People in Malaysia rarely engage in small talk. 

In Melbourne, I'm used to having light chats with the people at the cashiers and shops. Here in KL, more often than not, people look at me as if I just came down from another planet if I try to engage in chatter. Granted, most days I kind of am.

There's an underlying power in small talk though. By engaging in small talk, you create a certain sort of atmosphere between you and the other party. It is a certain sort of aura and space and moment in time that somehow becomes exclusive to just you that are involved in the conversation. The little things can sometimes have the biggest effect.

If you possess this ability, then you and I could probably babble on for hours. If you don't, well, no worries, it's something that you can practice and get better at. I mean, why else would I talk to myself all the time?

Love,
Geek with a pencil.