The Benefits of Small Talk

Dylan Lee did this small talk practice. A lot of people think that small talk superficial and have nothing to do with well-being, but one of the best studies of small talk is by Nick Eppley and my Berkeley colleague, Julianna Schroeder. The big idea came out of sort of a, seemed like a bit of a paradox, a puzzle. There are all these different situations in which connecting with other people make us happier. But there is this sort of one circumstance under which connecting with others doesn't seem to be preferred. And that's when you're trying to connect with a stranger, someone that you've never met before.