If you could read the other person's mind during small talk, would you actually want to?

A natural way to answer

Tempting, but I think I'd pass. Half the charm of conversation is the not-knowing. If I could hear every fleeting thought, I'd probably overthink everything and never relax.

Key phrases to use

• bored stiff — extremely bored“I was bored stiff at the meeting.”
• blissful ignorance — happy state of not knowing something unpleasant“I'd rather stay in blissful ignorance.”
• overthink — think about something too much, to the point it causes worry“I always overthink small social moments.”
• banging on about — talking at length about something, often boring the listener“Sorry, I'm banging on about work again.”