Uploaded April 2018 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
It's not often we get a way to make ourselves healthier—TRULY healthier—that we can start right now and that costs nothing. What is it? Small talk. Social isolation is just as harmful to you as smoking, and while debates about politics and long talks about the meaning of life can be good, what we get mentally and emotionally from a simple chat about the weather can have positive effects that last an entire day. But, journalist @CelesteHeadlee points out, we seem naturally inclined these days to surround ourselves with devices, not chit-chat. Is it because we can't control conversation, afraid we'll be stuck talking longer than we're comfortable? Do we simply not know what to say? Whatever is holding you back from striking up a conversation with a stranger, Headlee has some tips in this #ChicagoIdeas Talk that could literally save your life. To see the entire Talk in full HD, visit chicagoideas.com/videos/how-small-talk-can-make-you-live-longer
It's not often we get a way to make ourselves healthier—TRULY healthier—that we can start right now and that costs nothing. What is it? Small talk. Social isolation is just as harmful to you as smoking, and while debates about politics and long talks about the meaning of life can be good, what we get mentally and emotionally from a simple chat about the weather can have positive effects that last an entire day. But, journalist @CelesteHeadlee points out, we seem naturally inclined these days to surround ourselves with devices, not chit-chat. Is it because we can't control conversation, afraid we'll be stuck talking longer than we're comfortable? Do we simply not know what to say? Whatever is holding you back from striking up a conversation with a stranger, Headlee has some tips in this #ChicagoIdeas Talk that could literally save your life. To see the entire Talk in full HD, visit chicagoideas.com/videos/how-small-talk-can-make-you-live-longer
