The organization encourages strangers to connect

At Skip the Small Talk events, participants choose a random partner to have a 10-minute discussion about a prompt provided by the organization.

Once the 10 minutes are over, participants find a new partner to talk over a new prompt, and this cycle continues for the rest of the event.

Although some people come looking for networking opportunities or romantic connections, Skip the Small Talk Kansas City Community Lead Rachell Weiss said the purpose of the event is simply to foster human connection in a not awkward way.

“We have a lot of people who come to make friends because they want to get out of their regular friend group or just find other people to talk to,” Weiss said.

The social events are not just for extroverts

“Really it’s for everyone,” Weiss said. “What you get out of the event is whatever you want to make of it.”

She said people often come and only have one conversation before taking a break and joining in other rounds later in the event.

Some participants, Weiss said, only stay for half the event, while others stay the full time and end up chatting with everyone after the event is officially over.

Skip the Small Talk was founded in 2016

Founder Ashley Kirsner initially created the first Skip the Small Talk event in Boston after observing how people fail to connect in their daily interactions.

Now, Skip the Small hosts events in 12 different cities across the United States, including Lawrence, Chicago and Portland.

Weiss said she brought Skip the Small Talk to the Kansas City metro in spring 2022.