Chitchatting skill is no small matter

A study in the UK has found that 44% of its respondents in the 18-to-24 age bracket find it easier to communicate via gadgets rather talking face-to-face, 32% worry about not being able to answer queries, 20% are scared of being tongue-tied altogether, 11% fear they talk too fast, and 10% think they downplay their own abilities in social gatherings. As this cohort of shrinking violets are students of a large law school and virtual hearings will not outlast the current pandemic proscriptions, they obviously have a problem on their hands. A major part of their profession hinges on the gift of the gab and repartee, so being dumbstruck ab initio will not be helpful.

Their institution has sought to address the issue by offering a module on small talk and how it can be steered to more meaningful interlocution, conducted by ‘conversation trainer’. But this communication crisis also highlights that one overlooked but crucial Covid-19 casualty has been chitchat. The importance of cacoethes loquendi, or passion for talking, that too in person, cannot be dismissed as mere garrulity, particularly among fledgling legal eagles as the world emerges from pandemic isolation to confront fellow humans, facie ad faciem. Clearly, it is time that small talk is given its due as not only a necessary social lubricant but also a professional skill.