Numerous studies show that emotions come into play nearly every time we open our mouths or listen to what someone says. They influence everything we say and hear. They’ve already entered your conversation through that sigh, or that flash of pride, or in a thousand other ways you hardly noticed. Emotions have been at work since you sat down, shaping how you react, how you think, why you’re here in the first place. However, you can glide over the sigh, let the pride pass unacknowledged. You can minimize How Do We Feel? and stick to safer territory: The shallows of small talk.
