How to Skip Boring Small Talk and Create Meaningful Conversation Instead
What do you want to do before you die?
Recently, I went on a friend date with a girl I met on Bumble. It was fun and casual. The drinks flowed, and so did our conversation.
We made light chitchat about what was going on in our lives and other surface-level pleasantries.
It was a pleasant night and a friendly conversation. But at the end of the night, I still felt a little restless and empty.
I’m not a big fan of small talk. It’s incessant, boring, and meaningless.
Unfortunately, small talk is a necessary evil when you’re meeting people. It’s a way to break the ice and slowly let down barriers while you build trust.
But small talk doesn’t elicit strong community bonds.
One builds a stronger community when they get into deeper conversation.
So when I watched this Ted talk by Kalina, I was intrigued.
She introduces the concept of Big Talk, in contrast to small talk. With Big Talk, you focus on deeper and meaningful conversations.
The point of Big Talk is to inspire real conversations. In order for questions to qualify, they must meet three criteria: