Small talk is hardly the most interesting of conversations, yet some people have a way of making it feel even worse. And it’s often because the topics they choose just feel wrong. Here are twelve small talk topics that make people instantly dislike you, so you might want to stay away from them. Which one do you think is the worst?
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How tired you are
Being tired is one thing, but making it your entire personality is another thing. Starting every conversation with a sigh & a comment on how exhausted you are makes people stop caring. Everyone has stuff to deal with. You’re not special because you keep feeling that way, so perhaps you should avoid leading with this topic every single time.
How much you hate your phone
Some people love to talk about how they never check their phone, almost as though it’s a badge of honor. Honestly, it usually comes across as rather smug. They seem to think that everyone else is addicted to TikTok & that they deserve some kind of award because they’re unreachable. Most people nod along & stop texting them.
Jokes about hating people
Despite what you might think, telling someone how much you hate other people doesn’t make you sound edgy. Instead, it makes them wonder if you’re lying to their face. Do you actually hate them, too, and are you pretending to enjoy conversations with them? They’ll start questioning if they should even bother speaking to you.
How early you wake up
It’s never nice to feel like you’re being shamed for not doing yoga at sunrise, and that’s why bragging about how early you wake up is a bad idea. It’s simply self-congratulatory. Really, nobody cares that you got up at the crack of dawn & they’ll start thinking you’re desperate for praise.
Your food schedule
Unless someone asks about when & what you eat, you probably shouldn’t bring up your feeding hours. And that’s especially true for those people who love sharing how they’re fasting. Why? Because telling people you don’t eat until noon doesn’t make you mysterious, it just makes you seem like you’re bragging.
Your latest cleanse/detox/supplement
Talking about the latest health products isn’t usually a good idea. That’s not because everyone hates being healthy, but rather, it’s because discussing your newest supplements & detox products sounds like you’re doing a sales pitch. People aren’t here for that.
Making comparisons to people they don’t know
It doesn’t matter that you might think that this stranger looks like your cousin’s ex’s roommate from another state. There’s no good response they could give to that. If anything, such a claim is rather unsettling because the other person doesn’t know what they’re supposed to do with this information.
Your friend’s drama
Some people love starting a conversation with news about their friend’s messy breakup. But that makes everyone feel weird, as they don’t know anyone involved in the story. It’s less juicy and more awkward. Worse still, talking about people like this makes you seem like a gossip, so everyone knows not to trust you.
Your neighbor
Likewise, you might think it’s safe to talk about a neighbor, because at least then it doesn’t seem so bad. However, comments about how their yard’s so messy or how loud they are actually come across as nosy & petty. The people you’re talking to probably wonder what you’d say about their place.
A documentary that changed your life
In theory, talking about a documentary during small talk is fine. The issue, though, is when you start explaining climate change or politics to someone you don’t know. Most people are looking for light conversation. As such, bringing up such heavy topics makes it seem like you’re looking for an argument, so people start avoiding you, and any debates, entirely.
Complaining about someone’s driving
Starting a conversation by mentioning how people don’t know how to merge on the road doesn’t go down well. In fact, bringing it up could make the entire conversation more tense, and it’s enough to make people think that you’re ready to snap. Do you really want them to do that? Probably not.
Complaining about finding good help
As soon as you tell people that it’s hard to find good help these days, they immediately check out. It sounds like you’re going to start ranting about younger generations. And, let us guess, about how everything was better ten years ago? That’s a boring conversation that nobody wants to have.
Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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