I don't know if it's my face (whatever the opposite of 'resting bitch face' is, I have that) or my overall demeanor or what, but I must have an invisible sign hanging around my neck that says, "Hello stranger! Please strike up a conversation with me."

This happens to me everywhere, including (no kidding) while I'm changing in the women's locker room at the gym. I can't even avoid it when I'm half-dressed!

The other day at yoga, I was in a crappy mood and I actively tried to put off a "don't talk to me" vibe because I just wanted to be left alone. Three women separately approached me after class to strike up a conversation. I had to laugh.

So I give up! I accept that this is just the way I am.

And mostly, I don't mind it so much. I like hearing people's stories (I mean, it's what my entire job is centered around, after all!), and I've met some really cool people because of this superpower/curse of mine.

The only real problem is that I hate small talk. Having endless polite, surface-level, meaningless conversations with strangers is my idea of "the bad place." (Shudder.)

So, since I end up talking to random people all the time, it's been crucial for me to figure out how to dive straight into the conversation deep-end, to avoid the awful awkwardness of small talk.

I'm sharing 4 ways I've learned to avoid small talk, have better conversations, and ultimately, build deeper connections with the people in my life.

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For the love of god, stop asking people, "So, what do you do?"

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