Speaking of Nothing

low pay and a lack of chances for advancement. However, these three types of work stand out for another reason: they're characterised by a lack of conversation or by meaningless small talk, which unfortunately represents an obligatory part of the job. Examples of such small talk include comments about the weather, holiday destinations and food. Psychologists have long said that connecting with others through meaningful exchanges is central to well-being, but just how much conversation we require is under investigation. 15 Matthias R. Mehl and Simine Vazire of the University of Arizona in the United States wanted to investigate the types of conversations people have. The team used a device to periodically record short verbal exchanges while participants went about their daily tasks. In the study, the researchers eavesdropped on undergraduates for four days, then catalogued each overheard conversation as either 'small talk' or 'substantive'. They found that people who had more substantive conversations were more likely to say they were feeling happy and fulfilled overall. In fact, the happiest students had roughly twice as many substantive talks as the unhappiest ones. Small talk, meanwhile, made up only 10 per cent of…