There are a couple of ways we can get ready for small talk and warm up, so to speak. The two approaches are what you might assume: physiologically, and psychologically. Psychological preparation is a matter of getting in the mood to socialize and also becoming used to initiating interaction. This can be done with “ten-second relationships,” which plunge you into the deep end if only for a moment. The idea is to start small and short, with low expectations, and build from there. You’ll eventually see that it’s easy and quite safe—you might even find it to be enjoyable, and frequently want to
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