The Creative Nest

I am actually pretty good at small talk. There, I said it. I can talk to strangers, chat with coworkers, make conversation with the person standing next to me in line at the store, and somehow find something to say to just about anybody. Weather? Sure. Weekend plans? Absolutely. Traffic? I can make that work. I can take whatever random little topic is floating around and turn it into an actual conversation. Small talk doesn't bother me. What does bother me is trying to have small talk with someone who apparently did not receive the memo that small talk is supposed to be a two-person activity. You know the type. You walk up and say, “Hey! How was your weekend?” They say, “Good.” That's it. Just good. No follow-up. No additional information. No conversational breadcrumbs. Nothing. So you try again. “Do anything fun?” “Nope.” Oh. Okay. Now I'm doing all the work. At this point, I have apparently become the host of a talk show that nobody agreed to appear on. I start throwing o...

Have you ever taken the time to come up with what you thought was a really good question, only to get a response so short that it felt like someone dropped a bowling ball on the conversation? You know the kind of answer I'm talking about. You ask, "What was your favorite part of the trip?" And they respond with, "The beach." The beach? That's it? The entire beach? We aren't going to discuss the beach? Was it beautiful? Did a seagull steal your sandwich? Did you discover a hidden treasure chest? Give me something to work with here! I sometimes wonder if people realize how much effort goes into asking a good question. A good question is an invitation. It's the conversational equivalent of opening a door and saying, "Tell me more." Then the other person responds by peeking through the doorway and immediately closing it. Thanks. That was fun. I think we've all experienced it at one point or another. You ask a coworker how their weekend was....