Picture it: you’re waiting in line at the grocery store, just trying to get your food and leave… when suddenly the person in front of you starts a conversation.

The horror.

What do you do? Do you be polite and give the courtesy “yeah, egg prices are crazy, right?” Or do you mind your business and not bother participating?

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That’s the inner struggle that many in the Garden State are dealing with when faced with small talk.

That said, according to a new study, there’s a certain topic that is worse for small talk than others.

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Preply surveyed thousands of Americans to find out how people feel about small talk. According to the research, New Jersey is not fond of it.

Some of the key takeaways:

⚫ 48% prefer silence over small talk
⚫ 48% regularly encounter small talk at restaurants
⚫ 38% regularly encounter small talk in ride shares
⚫ 29% regularly encounter small talk at the salon

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39% of Americans engage in small talk on a daily basis. The biggest topics being the weather, work, and family.

When it comes to small talk, New Jerseyans can’t stand talking about work.

I mean, seriously, what are you supposed to say to “how’s work going?”

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You can’t actually get into the annoying aspects of it because there’s way too much context involved, and if you go on about how great it is, you sound like you’re bragging. There’s no winning.

Just embrace the silence, people!

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New Jerseyans mostly enjoy talking about weather as a casual small talk topic, according to Preply.

Chief Meteorologist Dan Zarrow must be great at small talk!

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The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5's Kylie Moore. Any opinions expressed are Kylie's own. You can follow Kylie on Instagram.
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