Wanted: Chief Small Talk Officers. Awkward Applicants Welcome
Your next job could involve talking to strangers. A lot.
TL;DR
- RiseGuide is hiring Chief Small Talk Officers to test the theory that direct practice can improve social confidence.
- The paid gig involves participants approaching strangers in public, tracking their interactions and self-assessed skills.
- The goal is to help people overcome social awkwardness and practice real-life conversations, encouraging users to eventually 'get off the app'.
- Research suggests social confidence can be trained, and it doesn't necessarily mean being an extrovert.
- Factors like smartphones, personalized digital feeds, and the ease of avoiding interactions are seen as contributing to a decline in casual conversation skills.
- Bars, once natural places for spontaneous talk, now see people more inclined to use phones instead of engaging with others.
- Interacting with strangers, even briefly, can lead to more positive experiences than avoiding them.