How can we skip small talk without making conversations awkward? originally appeared on Quora, the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus.

Just because something isn’t small talk, doesn’t make it awkward! Small talk is awkward too. Humans are awkward.

People have been trained by society to make small talk in social situations by default.

So much of everyday public discourse is actually very surface-oriented. Because in conversations, there’s usually a hesitation – a risk to ask about something that someone doesn’t outwardly project. We so often assume that this is because it’s not something you or I would want to discuss – but what if that’s just a self-fulfilling prophecy? What if we don’t talk about it, not because nobody wants to, but because we weren’t raised to, or we’re shy and introverted, or simply didn’t even think it was an option?

However, people might be surprised that once they try “Big Talk” - as long as they approach someone in a friendly, non-threatening way, how much the other person would welcome skipping the small talk trivia and getting into something more mutually meaningful from the start.

In fact, in parties, the same small talk can be boring. It’s more exciting and captivating if someone launches into an interesting topic right away.

So the next two or three times (because everything takes practice) you feel inclined to make small talk, just try launching into a slightly deeper conversation topic, and see what happens!

This question originally appeared on Quora. More questions on Quora:

* Social Advice: How can I get more comfortable interacting with people I don't know well?

* Asking Questions: What are the best questions to ask someone to quickly build rapport?

* Interpersonal Interaction: How do you start talking to a person you don't know?

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