Small Talk Quotes

It is commonly observed, that when two Englishmen meet, their first talk is of the weather; they are in haste to tell each other, what each must already know, that it is hot or cold, bright or cloudy, windy or calm.

During the Samuel Johnson days they had big men enjoying small talk; today we have small men enjoying big talk.

I'm very comfortable speaking to millions of people, but not comfortable in a small, intimate social setting. Like cocktail hour. I get very panicky.

… too much of a talker to be a deep thinker

I spend a fair amount of time chatting to black cab drivers in London.

I'm not shy. I'm quiet. With my close friends. I talk a lot. But if I'm at a big dinner, I'm not gonna walk in and go introduce myself to everybody.

In general I do not draw well with literary men -- not that I dislike them but I never know what to say to them after I have praised their last publication.

I've learned I don't like being around people too much. It's hard to stand around and make conversation with people I've learned. But I do want to be the guy that can do it easily.

Let's clear one thing up: Introverts do not hate small talk because we dislike people. We hate small talk because we hate the barrier it creates between people.

I've always liked the idea of walking into a cocktail party where there are different people and finding some connection with almost everybody in the room.

No- I cannot talk of books in a ballroom; my head is always full of something else.

I would never talk just to be social. Now, to sit down with a bunch of engineers and talk about the latest concrete forming systems, that's really interesting. Talking with animal behaviorists or with someone who likes to sail, that's interesting. Information is interesting to me. But talking for the sake of talking, I find that quite boring.

Cocktail party: A gathering held to enable forty people to talk about themselves at the same time. The man who remains after the liquor is gone is the host.

And not to serve for a table-talk.

Conversation may be compared to a lyre with seven chords - philosophy, art, poetry, love, scandal, and the weather.

It's still thrilling, even if my work is something that people even pretend they're interested in on a first date or at a cocktail party.

Nowadays, people don't ask you how you are, they say, 'Are you busy?' meaning, 'Are you well?' If someone actually does ask you how you are, the most cheerful answer, of course, is a robust 'Busy!' to which the person will reply 'Good!'

Pretending is the grease of non-relationships. Pretending is how you and I get through the day without ever having to know each other. When I walk in the room, you say to me, 'How are you?' Well, you don't want to know. And, frankly, I don't want to tell you. So I just say, 'Fine,' and you go, 'Fine.' And off we go.

Just be funny. Funny always goes over well, so try to think of something funny to break the ice rather than being weird or using pickup lines.

When I go to the gas station or the restaurant, people still come up and say hi.

I can get awkward. I am not the best person to break the ice.

People have to talk about something just to keep their voice boxes in working order so they'll have good voice boxes in case there's ever anything really meaningful to say.

A lot of times, when I interact with someone for the first time, I don't want to see the presentation.

Bores can be divided into two classes; those who have their own particular subject, and those who do not need a subject.

My position in life has always been to be that person in the room who can make the conversation and break down any awkwardness.