The ability to efficiently carry out "polite conversation about unimportant or uncontroversial matters during social occasions" is an unappreciated skill that gets too much of a bad rap. Small talk should comfortably sit among teleportation, telekinesis and the power of invisibility on the list of desired superpowers. Marvel and DC Comics are well and truly asleep on this, although many could argue that Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man has this ability.Small talk has endured undeserved slander from human beings for centuries but it is the very reason we're able to navigate through life without bumping into one another. It is the mobile pointsmen of conversation. What do you do round the water-cooler at work? How will people know how fantastic your holiday in Phuket was? Did you even have a great weekend if no one knows about it? You exist because small talk exists.However, only a few have mastered it, without it LOOKING like small talk. Think of your group of friends when you introduce them to your other group of friends. There's always that one mate who is able to elevate your mundane braai from level comatose to level Toks 'n Tjops.How often do you thank this Small Talk Samaritan, Pope of Pleasantries, Beyoncé of Blab for upgrading your social situations? Not often. They're able to slip into any kind of setting with the ease of a Roger Federer backhand, ensuring that the people in your life meet each other seamlessly. They not only shine, but they make you shine as well.The bat-signal is used to summon Batman when Gotham needs him. What the small-talk superhero gets is THAT Whatsapp message from the host desperate to have someone with some life at their party."Hey Jim, my friends loved you! Please come to my next dinner party. Should be fun!"story_article_left1The "should be fun" is there not because that particular party is some kind of fun thing. It is there to show that it will only be fun when you arrive.And for the talented small talker, how easy life must be for you. You mask the negativity associated with the word by calling it "networking" and "mingling", but ultimately your power lies in being able to get through life with some good ol' chitchat. This is the right platform to say "Thank you" for all the hard work you do for people across the world, from classrooms to boardrooms to changing rooms. You are valued, and we may not show it in any capacity but you are loved.All of you who struggle with it, vilify it to mask your own inadequacies as a communicator. Perhaps now is the time to embrace it, because the benefits must surely outweigh the negatives.Perhaps mastering it is a sign that you're mastering adulthood. You can lump it together with doing your income taxes and successfully separating your white laundry from your colours.So, how was your weekend?..