Generally, I am not a person who has much to say when I’m faced with unfamiliar people and settings. I’ve given it some thought recently. I experience situations where I’m not not completely comfortable especially where small talk is involved. I wonder to myself why this is so. Ultimately, I think it comes down to a subconscious fear that I might just be as boring as I appear in conversation.
I’m a horrible with small talk. There’s my penchant for candor which results inevitably with a stated opinion that will offend someone. The longer I participate and the more people involved, the greater the probability this will occur. Having known this for some time, I’ve limited my smalltalk to less than 1 minute. If possible, I avoid it altogether. This in turn acts as a possible feedback cue to everyone new person I’ve met that I am not interested in conversation unless it’s work related (i.e. boring).