In Defense Of Small Talk in anticlimatic

Look, I probably hate it more than you do. As an introvert, I don’t much care for chatting with strangers- and as an eccentric artist type, I don’t much care to mill about in dull predictable charades.

But charade is the wrong word. It’s more like a proper play. A formal one, with roles and lines. It gives you expectations to meet, and lets you have expectations to be met from another. The repetition and simplicity make it easy to hit all the pre choreographed beats.

It’s not about getting to know people. It’s about NOT getting to know people. It’s a lubricant for the unconscious friction between wildly different individuals- a “third space” for relationships- neither deep, nor hostile, nor nothing. Arm’s length is the correct space for most people we have to interact with outside of our inner circles, and small talk makes that possible.