How Small Talk Degrades the Quality of a Friendship

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The power of vulnerability. When you talk about the things that you are scared about, when you re reveal those things, it makes you human. The best way to to get other people to trust you is to first put the trust in them. We need to open up and not be afraid to look stupid. It's really not that difficult. And as we have to realize that generally, people are just as forgiving as we are with those clubs - they actually make people human.

Eric Barker is not a people person. “Getting me to write a relationship book,” he says, “is like asking Godzilla to improve the infrastructure in your city.” But he did it anyway. Guided by leading social psychologists, Eric went on a journey to understand what he was getting wrong about relationships — and what he could do to turn things around. The result is “Plays Well With Others,” a guide to friendship, intimacy, loneliness, and belonging that our curator Daniel Pink says will “revitalize your life.”

THIS AND THAT:

Check out Eric’s blog, “Barking Up the Wrong Tree”

Try out Arthur Aron’s intimacy building questions

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