A week of unpredictable spring weather in the U.S. ended with an unexpected earthquake in the Northeast. Just days later, a highly anticipated eclipse dimmed the sky as the path of totality stretched across the country.
Mother Nature has been dramatic lately, and people have been talking about it.
Though it can sometimes be difficult to figure out what to briefly talk about with strangers you encounter out and about, or with new friends in a social setting, recent wacky weather events have catapulted conversationalists to a new era of peak small talk.
There’s been so much pressure to have nuanced perspectives on everything from politics to new television shows that discussing these topics in casual conversation can feel overwhelming, or just plain loaded. Rachel Goldberg, a licensed family therapist in Los Angeles, said these casual conversations about the weather or cosmic events give individuals a “chance to step back from the divisive political landscape” to connect on “something bigger than everyone.”
Small talk typically heats up when the weather does in the spring. When it’s surprisingly warm, that’s something to discuss, as are sudden temperature drops or the dreaded April showers that bring May flowers. Passing remarks on the weather can signal that you’re interested in talking to someone, even if that conversation is benign.
Paul Losoff, a clinical psychologist in Illinois, told Yahoo that small talk “gets a bad rap quite often because it feels superficial and unstimulating,” but in fact, it’s the “front door” that must be entered to get to know someone.
Even if you didn’t feel the earthquake that shook parts of the Northeastern U.S., chances are you saw the news or a few posts about it that stuck out to you. Maybe you’ve experienced an earthquake on the West Coast, so you can compare your own experience. Maybe you’ve never experienced one, but you have thoughts about the news reports on them. Just like that, an instant social bond is formed.
There’s also the matter of the eclipse, for which some people had spent months preparing to watch, making travel plans and ordering safety glasses. How much of it you saw, where you went to watch it, what traffic was like and how the clouds impacted your view are all solid ways to get the conversation flowing. Even if you’re talking to someone totally uninterested in rare cosmic events, that alone is a fascinating look into what that individual is like as a person.
Karen Stewart, a sex and relationship therapist in Santa Monica, Calif., told Yahoo that small talk is the beginning of every type of relationship — from friendships to co-worker bonds to romantic dalliances.
“We are creating mini-connections that can lead to more in-depth relationships,” she said.
Engaging in small talk about these shared experiences opens the opportunity to learn from one another, Monica Vermani, a clinical psychologist and author in Toronto, told Yahoo.
“Our life journeys unfold in a collective,” she said. “The outside world and everyone in it can teach us and help us to grow and evolve into a higher and better version of ourselves.”
