Talking about the weather gets mocked a lot. Is it genuinely pointless, or is something else going on?

A natural way to answer

I don't think it's pointless at all. It's a kind of social handshake. The content barely matters; what matters is that you've signalled you're open to talking. It breaks the silence in a way that's safe for everyone.

Key phrases to use

• poke fun at — make gentle jokes about someone or something“They poke fun at British weather talk.”
• test the water — carefully try something to see how people will react“I mentioned it to test the water.”
• breaks the silence — ends an awkward quiet by speaking“A comment about the rain breaks the silence.”