We often mistakenly believe that others would be uninterested in chatting with us, when they might in fact welcome it, according to the authors of one study.Photograph: Fiordaliso/Getty Images Last ...

Striking up a conversation—especially with a stranger—is a lot like adding kindling to a fire pit and hoping it ignites. Choose the wrong starter, and the flame will fizzle out. But when you get it ...

You’re standing in line at the supermarket or drugstore when a stranger speaks up. “Hello, how are you?” the stranger greets you. “Good, and you?” might be your response. Your conversation partner ...

An evening out on the town with my closest friends — I love the promise of a night out. Maybe I’ll meet someone or learn something that could alter the trajectory of my life. And what a promise that ...

Wondering how to start a conversation? I could say simply that you aren’t alone in wondering. Or I could break the fourth wall a little. Humor me the latter. As a writer in the digital age with access ...

Small talk has its uses, especially in the business world. It can help us suss each other out, establish a basic level of trust, or just fill the time while we’re waiting in line. But let’s be honest, ...

In addition to asking open-ended questions and avoiding boomerasking, the right way to small talk is to reframe it. Stop thinking of it as small talk and start imagining it as big talk. Big talk is ...

Charles Duhigg, author of "The Power of Habit," argues that small talk isn't an innate skill, but rather a learned behavior that can be studied and crafted to perfectly suit any situation — whether ...

When Gillian Sandstrom was a graduate student in Toronto more than a decade ago, she encountered a stranger on the subway who was carrying a scrumptious-looking cupcake. Sandstrom had long considered ...

Heather Box and Julian Mocine-Mcqueen are co-founders of The Million Person Project and authors of "How Your Story Sets You Free". The book is an inspirational guidebook to help unlock your narrative ...