An equally good way of putting it

By Shreya Sivadas

Image credit: Pargat Dhillon on Unsplash

This is from way back, when we were very new in Canada and still learning the ways. One of the things I heard often was that one had to perfect the art of small talk – talk about the weather or hockey! – if one wanted to get along at work and make new friends with neighbours, etc.

This was something I struggled with, not only because my knowledge of hockey was zero, but I found it hard to strike up a conversation with people I hardly knew.

“That’s the whole point,” explained Samira, who was my supervisor at work. “Small talk helps you to get to know someone better, learn their interests, gauge their response to what interests you, and so on.”

“I wish I was like Carla,” I said. “She’s a square!”

When I used the word, I had no idea it meant boring in old hippie lingo. Someone uninteresting would be described as square.

“Carla?” asked Samira, surprised. “What makes you describe her as square? She’s so much fun to be with!”

“That’s what I meant,” I explained. “She’s good at her work, she’s friendly, she volunteers... She’s so good on all fronts, she’s like a square, equally good all around.”

“Ah! I thought you meant boring!” exclaimed Samira. “See the benefits of small talk? You learnt not to use a particular word in a context that might be misunderstood!”