Small Talk
Small talk was invented to fill the void of awkward situations with empty, meaningless conversation. The classic of all small talk situations happens in coffee kitchens of office buildings. All you want is to make yourself coffee to get you through the day. But suddenly, a wild co-worker appears. You didn't plan for this to happen. "Come on, coffee maker", you think to yourself. "Hurry up!".
But it's too late.
"So?", starts the co-worker, who doesn't know any better but to introduce a little small talk into this void of awkwardness. "How is everything?", they ask you. "Can you be a little less generic?", you think to yourself ironically, but politeness stops you. "Oh, you know, things are just fine.", you answer. "And with you?".
Recently, I have asked myself, if small talk is restricted to these awkward situations with co-workers, strangers or unbeloved people of your life. Do you ever small talk with your mate or your romantic partner?
"So?", I ask my girlfriend as she stands in front of the coffee maker. She looks awfully tired and the earliest I can hope for profound conversations about the meaning of life are after she had at least 3 cups of coffee.
"How did you sleep?". I mean this in the most meaningful way. I always enquire about her sleep quality, possible dreams and her overall well-being of a new day. "Oh, you know", she starts. "Nothing out of the ordinary."
And with that, I realize, I have just witnessed a meaningless conversation with my romantic partner, in my own household, that used small talk as a defense mechanism in order to cut a conversation short and receive her coffee in absolute silence.