Small Talk or Silence

Carroller16

When in the barbers, a lift or say a taxi, do you enjoy a bit of small talk or prefer silence.

I can't stand small talk. I go to a particular barber particularly because he does not engage in small talk.

admiralofthefleet

9 times out of ten i keep my trap shut, i hate the usual 'doing anything this weekend' 'so what do you work at'

hondasam

perhaps you are odd and unsociable. what is wrong with small talk, it passes the time.

what you are doing now is small talk.

Penn

Prefer silence. End up with small talk though.

Dudess

I'm fine with small talk as long as it's not forced. A lot of the time, for me anyway, in the hairdresser's, in a taxi etc, chat just happens naturally and I get on well with the person in that context. But sometimes there's just nothing to say, and neither party should feel obliged to force a conversation.

Duggy747

Taxi Driver: "So, you up to anythi......"
You: "I'm not paying you to talk"
Taxi Driver: "...................."
You: "................."

I don't mind the shìte talking with a taxi driver if they seem like nice blokes.

TeddyTedson

Small talk, it leads to proper conversations usually.
Although I do hate getting a hair cut when the place is completely silent and packed with people being forced to listen to your conversation with the barber.

NothingMan

I'm usually the one to start nattering. Especially after a few beers the taxi driver is probably thinking "I'm suppose to drive you home, not listen to your crap".

--Kaiser--

I have the same policy with barbers and taxi drivers, if they want to have a conversation, I'm more than happy to oblige, if not I'll stay silent. You've got a think about how many times a day they are asked to same questions ("Are ye busy?" etc. etc.)

Little Acorn

If in a taxi then both. I like to start of with a bit of small talk. Then silence for the majority of journey. But maybe a little bit more small talk when I'm nearly at my destination. I would feel odd just getting in to the car, and leaving again without saying a word to the driver. I would think of it as a bit rude on my part, to just name destination then hand over money and get out, without having chatted a little bit. Taxi drivers are normally very friendly and chatty in my experience, and they seem to always know everything that is happening in the town!:)

fonecrusher1

Taxi home on saturday night...

Have you been busy?
yeah busy enough alright, always is on a saturday night.
Have you been busy?
eh?...yeah busy enough?
Have you been busy?
.....? just told you??
Have you been busy?
.......???
Have you been busy?
..........
Have you been busy?
What the fcuk is wrong with you?
Have you been busy?
Get out.
Have you been busy?
OUT.

Kiera

It really depends on my mood. Sometimes i just want quiet time and other times i like a good aul natter about crap

prinz

Don't mind small talk most places, but I really hate it at the barbers.

Adyx

admiralofthefleet wrote: »

9 times out of ten i keep my trap shut, i hate the usual 'doing anything this weekend' 'so what do you work at'

I really hate this too because invariably I'm not doing anything at the weekend because currently I don't work at anything. I'm not going away anywhere nice on holidays either.

TequilaMockingBird

Barrington wrote: »

Prefer silence. End up with small talk though.

Ditto. I don't want to talk, but I end up asking inane questions to be polite. I think we're both relieved when the whole thing is over.

TeddyTedson

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

Taxi home on saturday night...

Have you been busy?
yeah busy enough alright, always is on a saturday night.
Have you been busy?
eh?...yeah busy enough?
Have you been busy?
.....? just told you??
Have you been busy?
.......???
Have you been busy?
..........
Have you been busy?
What the fcuk is wrong with you?
Have you been busy?
Get out.
Have you been busy?
OUT.

This made me lul so much is bobbed up and down,
lsmibuad!

Seloth

It depends on the taxi driver.

Last night I had a fantastic talk with one ,He was a nigerian guy whol told me about how did business last year in a FETAC course but really wants to do film making course,but has too work for the year first.He went on about how he's really into all the background stuff.

Its when you get the feck arse of a fella who automatically talks about sport I hate."See the match?" "There was a match?" "Not a football fan are yah?" "Foot?...Ball?"

Lol most of the times though taxi driver convo's are about two subjects,the weather or how busy they are.

Hairdressers its more so up to them to start but most of the time I'm silent.Theres a hairdressers in my town I enjoy going to as the woman is crazy hah and really enjoyable to talk to

AnonoBoy

Taxi Driver: Howarya?
Me: Ah grand y'know - just heading home from work. Pretty tired.
Taxi Driver: Ah I hear ya.
Me: So did you see that match between City and......
Taxi Driver: You know what I hate about Nigerians?
Me: *sigh*

Silence please unless they have something interesting to say.

I bet most of the small talk haters wouldn't be of the same opinion if it was a female barber/taxi driver with nice features.
I don't particularly like small talk but if someone sparks it up, it's only polite to return it, unless of course you're an ignorant ****

TeddyTedson

Taxi driver - "The f*cking government.......
Me - yea, yea, yea

(time elapse)
Taxi driver - "I'll tell you what the b*stards need to do.....
Me - yea, yea, yea. Sorry I'm just here beside that lane....
Taxi driver - "No problem, 20euro. They need to get there arse out of their...
Me - LEG IT!!!!!

NothingMan

Conversation with a taxi driver after walking by 3 other taxis and getting into his.

Taxi driver: "So why did you skip those cabs?"

Me: "They were shoite!"


If I'm paying premium money to get home I'm getting at least a Merc not a 98 Toyota Avensis.

RayM

I don't mind a bit of small talk, but I draw the line at having to politely nod along with a taxi driver's casual racism (I'm just using taxi drivers as a totally random example of a person with whom you might engage in small talk, not suggesting that racism is endemic throughout the taxi industry... oh no...).

As for barbers... I prefer that they don't get too wrapped up in the conversation, and then forget to stop cutting until there's nearly nothing left.

chin_grin

Get in taxi.
Say destination.
Take out phone.
Hold up whilst maintaining very strong eye contact with driver.
Play this song.
(optional) Seat dance. Still maintaining eye contact.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGSKrC7dGcY

WIZE

Small Talk

silence can be too loud sometimes

TeddyTedson

chin_grin wrote: »

Get in taxi.
Say destination.
Take out phone.
Hold up whilst maintaining very strong eye contact with driver.
Play this song.
(optional) Seat dance. Still maintaining eye contact.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGSKrC7dGcY

Isn't that King in that video?

Novella

I always seem to have good chats with taxi drivers, sometimes I don't even wanna get out of the car when I get to where I wanna go because we're so engrossed in conversation. My hairdresser was in my class at school and she's really nice, so never any silence there either.

I'd happily sit in silence if the other person wasn't talkative though, don't find that awkward.

chin_grin

Novella wrote: »

I always seem to have good chats with taxi drivers, sometimes I don't even wanna get out of the car when I get to where I wanna go because we're so engrossed in conversation.

One eye on the meter then?

Vicxas

small talk. or if im drunk, a full blown conversation.

FreudianSlippers

I usually prefer silence. I actually switched barbers because my guy wouldn't stop talking about sports etc.

My new guy is much better and I actually get on with him. Bit of a chat, how's it going etc. then silence. He doesn't feel the need to ramble on the entire time.

With taxi men I just lie most of the time. I'll say stuff here and there, but they always ask what I do for a living. If I tell them the truth it's non-stop lol.
I just make something up on the spot.

jackiebaron

I walk in to my local pub in Amsterdam.

There's a guy sitting at the bar and I can just tell he's American
(loud white trainers, white socks, jeans that only Americans wear i.e. huge around the arse, fat head etc.)

I can also tell he's going to want some friendly smalltalk horsesh1t with me.

I shout for a pint to the barman and make a quick comment about something or other as I know him well.

Our American friend hears my Irish accent and inquires "So, where are you from?"
I just know he's going to want to bleat on about how he's Irish coz his great-great grandmother farted after a glass of guinness or some crap.

I reply to him "What are you, a cop?"
Pick up my pint and feck off to the smoking lounge and leave him there.

here.from.day.1

OisinT wrote: »

With taxi men I just lie most of the time. I'll say stuff here and there, but they always ask what I do for a living. If I tell them the truth it's non-stop lol.
I just make something up on the spot.

What do you do for a living?

hightower1

OisinT wrote: »

With taxi men I just lie most of the time. I'll say stuff here and there, but they always ask what I do for a living. If I tell them the truth it's non-stop lol.
I just make something up on the spot.

Taximan: So what do you do for a livin?
OisinT: I,...... ehhh, .... ehhh.... drive taxis! ...... s**t

PeterIanStaker

I got a haircut today, and the small talk with the barber, a guy about my age was inoffensive and normal. I dont really like making small talk with some taxi drivers though, they can be tedious sometimes, - no offence to any taxi men:)

homerun_homer

I hate small talk. I like comfortable silences but if I'm always making the effort with a person then I'll sit happily in silence and leave it up to them.

I don't make small talk unless they start up first, that's ok.
Usually in a taxi it's
driver: where are you from
me: dublin...
driver: oh you sound foreign

No I don't, go away!

xoxyx

My taxi driver yesterday:

Driver: See you said you live in Christchurch, but you don't.
Me: Um - I do. That's where my post gets posted to.
Driver: Yeah, but it's not really Christchurch is it.
Me: Well I don't live in the actual church if that's what you mean?

He spent the whole journey telling me I don't live where I live. Now I'm confused and I can't find my way home anymore. :(:(

FreudianSlippers

xoxyx wrote: »

My taxi driver yesterday:

Driver: See you said you live in Christchurch, but you don't.
Me: Um - I do. That's where my post gets posted to.
Driver: Yeah, but it's not really Christchurch is it.
Me: Well I don't live in the actual church if that's what you mean?

He spent the whole journey telling me I don't live where I live. Now I'm confused and I can't find my way home anymore. :(:(

What he was really trying to say is that you live in the Liberties!

Dyr

I have a good ole chinwag if he wants. If I leave me phone/wallet/keys in a taxi I want the driver to be inclined to do me a good turn.

xoxyx

I've had the foreign thing too.

Driver: So, where ya from?
Me: Dublin.
Driver: Really? You sure?

Don't give them an inch. I swear to God if you take your eye off the ball for a second they'll turn you into a Russian living in Kerry or something.

Gottalovegreys

Silence all the way, especially in the hairdressers. What I learned at the hairdressers is this: its fairly hard to hear people talking sometimes, so you rely on looking at the hairdresser in the mirror.

But I wear glasses and am almost blind without them, so whenever a hairdresser tried to speak to me I couldn't hear them because I couldn't see them!

So now.

krudler

prefer silence, dont mind a bit of banter from taxi drivers and i never, ever ask them if they'er busy, its a saturday, they probably are, and I dont care either way. I had to laugh at the shared cab I got one night where a woman asked if he was bust and he said if one more person asked him that he was gonna drive the cab into a river

there is one cab driver i've gotten a few times that bugs the sh1t out of me, always playing rebel songs in his car stereo, but the rank he works at is the closest to the pub we frequent the most, typical "they took ur jerbs" taxi driver, blaring the Wolfe Tones out of his speakers as hes going on about how foreigners ruined the country.

admiralofthefleet

OisinT wrote: »

I usually prefer silence. I actually switched barbers because my guy wouldn't stop talking about sports etc.

My new guy is much better and I actually get on with him. Bit of a chat, how's it going etc. then silence. He doesn't feel the need to ramble on the entire time.

With taxi men I just lie most of the time. I'll say stuff here and there, but they always ask what I do for a living. If I tell them the truth it's non-stop lol.
I just make something up on the spot.

tell them your a tax inspector next time and keep looking at the plate and badge.
that will scare the shite out of them

AnonoBoy

Bambi wrote: »

I have a good ole chinwag if he wants. If I leave me phone/wallet/keys in a taxi I want the driver to be inclined to do me a good turn.

I just remember to take my stuff with me.

stovelid

I'm a sociable person and I'm also not 15 years-old so unless I'm overly tired or hungover, it doesn't plunge me into massive existential agony to exchange a few social niceties - however trivial - with the person cutting my hair or driving my taxi.

Red Hand

Is this thread small talk? If one chooses not to post in it, does that mean that they are being silent?

However, I don't want this to be uncomfortable for anybody either, especially the OP, in that I don't want them to feel that their opening remark made me want to be silent.

But if I have little small talk, then adding to this thread and not replying again could make things uncomfortable?


Erm...SILENCE!!!

Dyr

AnonoBoy wrote: »

I just remember to take my stuff with me.

This may not always possible. Although I've never left anything behind in a taxi other than the will to live. Except this one time visiting switzerland when i left my phone in a taxi. bastard never said a word the whole drive and I never got that phone back. Which proves my point really.

Mint Sauce

Taxi's - Depends on mood/level of drunkness

Barbers - can count on one hand the number of times have been in a barbers/hairdressers in the last 6 or 7 years. Would have depended on level of hawtness of the person cutting (prefer women to cut it, more gentle).

toodleytoo

id prefer silence myself but i wouldn't just ignore somebody if they tried to make small talk...

Banjaxed82

Everything I say in barbers, taxi driver is a complete fabrication. It's great craic if you can convincingly spin a yarn or two.

Taxi driver: I had Colin Farrell in the taxi last week.

Me: That's mad. I just finishing producing a film he worked on. That's funny that. Nice guy, isn't he?

.same.

Hairdressers= eastern europeans don't ask which country and i've been going there for 4 years.

Me~(point to head) same again
her~ O.k
Me~(hand over 15euro)Thanks,Bye
her~Bye

I reckon the older I get the more up for small take I am.

dr gonzo

I like chatting with the barber because the one i go to is a legend, which sounds weird but he genuinely is a funny bastard.

However i dont like talking to taxi drivers because firstly i get the distinct feeling most of the time that im supposed to entertain them with chatter and they're already getting enough off me. Secondly i have no interest in any of the areas that taxi drivers most like to discuss, namely: football, the government and racism (Not necessarily in that order).