Overview
- Researchers published the peer-reviewed paper Monday in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, reporting nine experiments with about 1,800 participants.
- Across strangers and friends, in person and on Zoom, people predicted dull conversations yet rated the live chats as far more interesting once they took part.
- The benefit came from the dynamic back-and-forth of talking—listening, responding, and feeling heard—rather than from the subject itself.
- The effect vanished when people only read transcripts or watched recordings of the same conversations, showing that active participation is required.
- The team led by Elizabeth Trinh at the University of Michigan, with co-authors at Cornell ILR and INSEAD, says misjudging small talk may cause people to skip easy moments of connection, and they advise starting more chats, asking open-ended questions, and paying close attention.