While some people have no problem striking up a conversation with a stranger in the supermarket checkout line or on public transit, small talk doesn't come as naturally for others—especially those ...

The art of having a good conversation with a total stranger might seem like a lost skill in our increasingly digital and disconnected social landscape, but it's not dead yet. The ability to connect ...

Striking up a conversation—especially with a stranger—is a lot like adding kindling to a fire pit and hoping it ignites. Choose the wrong starter, and the flame will fizzle out. But when you get it ...

You’re standing in line at the supermarket or drugstore when a stranger speaks up. “Hello, how are you?” the stranger greets you. “Good, and you?” might be your response. Your conversation partner ...

Learning novel information is, for many people, one of life’s great joys, and conversing with others—especially those we don’t know well—is among the most effective ways to gain new knowledge in daily ...

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Psychologists have found that people are as hesitant to reach out to an old friend as they are to strike up a conversation with a stranger, even when they had the capacity and desire to do so.

When Gillian Sandstrom was a graduate student in Toronto more than a decade ago, she encountered a stranger on the subway who was carrying a scrumptious-looking cupcake. Sandstrom had long considered ...

Before Gillian Sandstrom became a psychologist, she was a computer programmer. Then she decided to change tracks and pursue a degree in psychology at Toronto Metropolitan University. And she felt like ...