People underestimate how enjoyable everyday conversations really are, study says
WASHINGTON — The small talk you try to avoid because you think it will be boring may actually be more enjoyable than you think, and good for you as well, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.
“We tend to assume that if a topic sounds dull, the conversation will be dull too,” said Elizabeth Trinh, MA, a doctoral student at the University of Michigan and lead author of the research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. “But that’s not what people actually experience.”
In nine experiments involving 1,800 participants, researchers found that people consistently underestimated how interesting and enjoyable conversations about boring topics would be.
Participants were asked to predict how much they would enjoy talking about specific topics they identified as boring. Topics were many and varied, including World Wars I and II, nonfiction books, the stock market, cats, and vegan diets. In some cases, participants were asked to suggest a topic they found boring (responses included such topics as math, onions and Pokemon). Participants then had real conversations with strangers or friends, in person or online. Afterward, they reported how much they enjoyed the conversations.
Across experiments, the pattern was clear: people expected the conversations to be fairly dull, but afterward they reported enjoying them much more than they had predicted. This pattern held even when both parties agreed the topic was boring.
“We were both surprised and excited by how robust the effect was,” said Trinh. “People consistently expected conversations about seemingly boring topics to be less interesting than they turned out to be.”
The reason may be that people focus too much on the topic itself, according to Trinh. Before a conversation begins, the topic is the easiest thing to judge. But once people start talking, the interaction becomes more important.
“What really drives enjoyment is engagement,” she said. “Feeling heard, responding to each other, and discovering unexpected details about someone’s life can make even a mundane topic meaningful.”
The findings matter because social connection plays a key role in mental and physical health. Strong relationships are linked to greater well-being and lower risk of loneliness. If people avoid conversations because they expect them to be boring, they may miss easy chances to connect.
“If we skip talking to a coworker at the coffee machine, a neighbor in the elevator, or a stranger at an event, we may be missing small moments of connection,” said Trinh. “Even a brief conversation about everyday life may be more rewarding than we expect.”
Article: “Conversations About Boring Topics Are More Interesting Than We Think” by Elizabeth Trinh, MA, University of Michigan Stephen M Ross School of Business, Nicole Thio, MS, Cornell University Industrial and Labor Relations School, and Nadav Klein, PhD, INSEAD – Europe Campus. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, published online April 13, 2026.
American Psychological Association, April 2026
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“The Book of Forgiving: The Fourfold Path for Healing Ourselves and Our World,” by Desmond Tutu and Mpho Tutu
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