Some people can turn a chat about the weather into a fascinating conversation. Others would rather stand quietly in the elevator and hope nobody speaks. And then there's that person who wants to tell us everything about their latest hobby, even though we know absolutely nothing about it.

Perhaps we should give those conversations a chance. New research suggests that, even when we're expecting a conversation to be dull, we might end up enjoying ourselves more than we imagined.

Boring Is in the Eye of the Beholder

The stock market might not be your favorite conversation starter. And, unless you're particularly interested in history, a lengthy discussion about World War II might not sound like much fun, either.

But, could you enjoy those conversations more than you expected? That's what researchers set out to discover through nine experiments involving about 1,800 people.

For the research, participants were asked to predict how much they'd enjoy discussing certain subjects before having the conversations themselves. Some topics were chosen by the researchers, while others came from participants who considered them boring. The subjects included:

• The stock market

• Nonfiction books

• Cats

• Vegan diets

• World War I and World War II

Some people even suggested onions and Pokémon as topics they had little interest in discussing. But, as the researchers discovered, a boring subject doesn't necessarily make for a boring conversation.

The Conversations Were Better Than Expected

After predicting how enjoyable their discussions would be, participants talked with friends or strangers, either online or in person. Then they rated how much they enjoyed the experience.

In the experiments, people consistently had a better time than they'd expected. The effect appeared even when both people agreed beforehand that the subject was boring.

So, a conversation about onions might not sound especially promising. But, once we start talking, we may discover that there's more to enjoy than the topic itself.

It's Not Always About What We're Discussing

The researchers believe we may be putting too much emphasis on choosing an interesting subject. Before a conversation begins, we tend to judge it by what we're going to talk about. Once we're chatting, though, other things become important.

Maybe the person we're speaking with has a funny story. Perhaps they have an unusual perspective that makes us see something differently. Or, sometimes, we simply enjoy the exchange because the other person is genuinely interested in what we have to say.

Lead researcher, Elizabeth Trinh of the University of Michigan, explained that engagement plays an important role in how much we enjoy conversations. In other words, the company might be more interesting than the subject.

A Little Conversation Could Go a Long Way

There's another reason these findings are encouraging. Social connection is associated with better well-being, and those everyday conversations can give us opportunities to interact with people we might otherwise overlook.

Of course, the study doesn't mean every conversation will be enjoyable, or that chatting about the weather is a cure for loneliness. But, it does suggest that our expectations might be keeping us from some surprisingly pleasant interactions.

Give That Conversation a Chance

The next time someone starts talking about a subject that doesn't particularly interest us, perhaps we shouldn't be so quick to tune out.

We might discover a shared interest or hear a story we never expected. And if the conversation turns to onions? Well, at least there's a chance it'll be more entertaining than we think.

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