I hate small talk. Always have done. If we’re not talking about something that will take an idea from point A to point B, then what’s the point? I do, however, do a very good impression of someone who enjoys small talk, when I have to. If I have the sense that it’s beneficial for someone else if I bear talking about the weather for a bit — or my weekend, perhaps, and all the times I chose not to go outside — then I can do that.
It never occurred to me until recently that some people enjoy small talk. I’d always assumed everyone hated it as much as I did (which made the pointlessness of it that much more pointed). In fact, I thought everyone struggled with a whole heap of things, including smiling and laughing on cue, accurately assessing someone’s expression and body language, understanding the cadence of a normal conversation, maintaining eye contact, quelling panic in group settings…