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Small talk is extremely useful when first meeting others.[10] Actually， one purpose of small talk is not to find out the answers to questions like “How are you?” or “Nice day， isn't it?” but rather to learn whether the person is the sort whom one would like to know better.[11] While talking about essentially unimportant matters such as the weather， life in the office， or how many children—if any—one has， each speaker has the opportunity to determine whether the other is cooperative， interesting， potentially useful or friendly， etc.[12] If a person answers the inquiry about the weather with a grunt or “I hate sunny days，” no further energy need be wasted![13]
与人初次见面时，闲聊是非常管用的。事实上，闲聊的目的之一并非是如何回答“你好吗？”或“天气还不错，是吗？”等问题，而是了解对方是否是我们想进一步认识的那种人。在谈论一些无关痛痒的话题时，如天气、办公室生活或者对方有几个小孩（若对方有的话），谈话者有机会判断对方是否愿意合作，是否有兴趣，是否有所助益或友善等。谈到有关天气的问题时，对方若哼哈一声敷衍了事，或者说：“我讨厌艳阳天，”那就别再浪费口舌了。

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Some psychologists go further更进一步[23]. They say that the whole point of language is gossip. Our ability to tell stories wins us friends. It makes us respected.[24] It helps us meet the right husband or wife or make lots of money. This is called the “Chat up” theory of language development.[25]
有些心理学家言之更甚。他们说语言的意义在于闲聊。我们的讲故事能力为我们赢得朋友，使我们受人尊敬。这种能力帮助我们找到合适的丈夫或妻子，帮助我们赚很多钱。这被称为语言发展的“攀谈”理论。