Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The Clare Byrne Show on Newstalk. With Aviva Insurance.
Are you a fan of small talk or do you do your best to try to avoid it? Well, new research has shown that even in the most boring of chats, we often still find enjoyment, which in turn boosts our mental health. Well, to share their thoughts on this, I'm joined by Dr. Joe Nolan, who's a linguist researcher at SOAS University of London. Joe, you're welcome to the programme.
But before we have our little chat, I just want to take a listen to a famous example of small talk between John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction. You can walk into a movie theater in Amsterdam and buy a beer. And I don't mean just like a little paper cup.
Chapter 2: What does new research say about the enjoyment of small talk?
I'm talking about a glass of beer. And in Paris, you can buy a beer at McDonald's. You know what they call a quarter pounder with cheese in Paris? They don't call it a quarter pounder with cheese? I mean, they got the metric system. They wouldn't know what a quarter pounder is. What do they call it? They call it a royale with cheese. Royale with cheese. That's right. What do they call a Big Mac?
Big Mac's a Big Mac, but they call it Le Big Mac. Le Big Mac. And Father Ted is often cited when stuck in conversation on a dull topic. Let's have a reminder of the most boring priest in Ireland. Run the gas off the electricity and the electricity off the gas and we save Ā£200 a year. But then a few weeks later, God, I'll never forget it now. We've got a new boiler.
Are you all right there, Father?
Chapter 3: What examples of small talk are shared in the episode?
Help me! We've all been there. Dr. Joe Nolan, is that good for us to have those kind of chats?
Well, I mean, the research that was in the newspaper this morning suggests that it is. I think whether it's good or bad, it's inevitable, right? It's the fabric of our life. And immediately you start having a conversation about, you know, whether it be what you call a hamburger in Paris or, you know, how the boiler works. You're establishing common ground with the person you're talking to.
Because everyone has a boiler or everybody knows how a boiler works or everybody wants to talk about that, particularly here in the UK. Everyone wants to talk about the weather endlessly.
Same here. But you're saying even if we're standing there having a conversation and we feel this is boring, I want to escape as quickly as possible, that maybe we should invest a little bit in it because we're making a connection.
I think so. I mean, particularly in the world we live in today, where what's your alternative if you're standing in line in the post office? You're going to just scroll on your phone again. Or you can talk to the person ahead of you about how long this is taking and where they're sending their post to. Or, you know, we read a lot again about the loneliness epidemic.
For some people, going to the shop... And having a chat with someone in the aisle or at the cash register is potentially the only conversation they have. And I think there's also this emphasis on small talk, but also like flip it over, small listen. Being listened to is incredibly valuable. It's incredibly beneficial.
I mean, that's, I think, how the dopamine is released as much with the talking that you're doing as someone seeming to register and respond to what you've said.
So is it related to us needing to feel and find common ground with other people?
I think so. And also, I mean, the world is pretty binary, isn't it, politically?
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