A whiff of a riff

No one likes small talk. Once you’ve cycled through the weather, weekend plans (pre or post depending on the day of the week and god forbid it’s Wednesday), and your journey to the destination, you’re basically begging to be interrupted.  

But apparently, it’s good for us. The key is doing it right.

According to new research, we should all be ‘riffing’. This is when you pick up on a nugget from the answer and dive deeper into it, or ask a question so random it forces the other person to engage in a genuine way.

But, in those moments where a pause turns into a silence and you’d rather be anywhere else, coming up with such a question is nigh on impossible. Fear not, The Cave is here to help.

Consider, for example, asking whether you’d ever put ice in a beer. This one has the handy added benefit of determining if you even want to know the individual in question.

Or perhaps whether, if you had given or received an engagement ring and the relationship then ended, whether you’d ask or give said ring back. Given the fact that being a gold digger is apparently now an aspiration, it may not be cut and dried.

The Cave’s personal favourite, however, is a simple question about how far you could throw a burrito. This opens up a world of possibilities around density, ingredients, height v distance and hundreds of other weird and wonderful considerations. You are welcome.