Bad At Making Small Talk

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This is only too familliar. I may even be interested in the topic, but still it's like my mind is going blank when it comes to questions.

What I find really hard about small talk, is these open questions or phrases, e.g. "Nice day"... Whenever I encounter one of those conversations it usually goes like:
"Cold outside, isn't it?"
"Yes it is" (and a long, painful silence...)
And then what...? I just can't figure out what to say next.

Something a bit weird to some, though, is that I actually find it easier having small talk-like chats with my closest friends. I suppose it's all about me knowing them so well, allmost like I've learned their "language". Then, when I know the rules it's easier to relax end use this pointless talk as a means of just being together.

talks to inform, comand, or for inquries

I was wondering: do NTs find small talk to be something really enjoyable and interesting, or do they also think it's pointless and futile like most people think around here?

For me this conversation would go more like...


THEM: Cold outside, isnt it?

ME: Yeah, It's summer in Australia though. Did you know they have Christmas in the middle of their summer? Isn't that weird? Though I guess it's not that weird concidering the way earth orbits the sun. I wonder what British people first thought when the went to Australia, then again, what's the weather like in England at Christmas, it's cold right?

THEM: uhh

ME: yeah it is right?

THEM: I guess?

ME: Something wrong?

So yeah, I have no ability to do small talk, no matter how hard I try I always think of something interesting, and to tell the truth I really don't know what normal small talk would be. "Hi, how are you?" isn't a question in American culture but simply a greeting, so if you truthfully tell someone how you are then it's most of the time the wrong answer, even if you say your good but add something to it like "I'm good, Tired though." because that makes someone ask "oh why?" and then I say something like "I stayed up all night reading this history book. Did you know that in...(some random piece of information that is only interesting to me, apparently)" and so therefore it stops being small talk and, even when I don't mean to, I turn it into a conversation about historical aspects V.S modern ones. I don't think I've ever made real small talk in my whole life. Seems quite boring frankly.

I honestly believe that people talk about nothing so much because they think their mouths will heal up if they don't.