Just to preface, nobody has to do small talk. Foundation of socializing is people coming into their own, with their permission/decision to do so. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do
Anyways, I shifted my perspective on small talk from viewing it as this draining thing to do, to something that is light and fun and refreshing.
What I learned about small talk is this:
1) it is a way to fulfill peoples social needs short and quick
2) it sets the tone, lets people know who you are/how you want to interact for just that short amount of time.
3) It’s not deep, non committal, which makes it have zero pressure to talk, just short and quick. Go on about your day after that with a good short social interaction. It might go along way, people remember the positive experience they had with you even if it was short. They might wanna talk to you again!
Example:
Stranger 1 meets stranger 2
Stranger 1: “Wow it’s really cold I can’t believe I came out today I wish I knew how cold it would be”
Stranger 2: “Yep, it’s that type of season now gotta prepare for it”
Stranger 1: “Guess I’ll be staying indoors then haha”
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That’s it. Small talk is over.
I do think social interaction is a balance between understanding when silence is more beneficial than not talking and when talking is more beneficial than silence. I think when people are emotionally available and present, they want to talk, when people are introverted they want to protect their energy. Both are great and serve it’s purpose, this is just to step your social skills up to go back and forth between queues. (That’s if you want to socialize of course lol)
If you’re introverted and don’t like social interaction, you don’t have to. That’s okay too