we’ve been hearing a lot that folks feel lonely in a crowd, or even with a friend. we take a look at this common problem.

feeling lost in a crowd may not mean what you think.

and there’s plenty you can do about it to find your way to deeper connections.

Juggling our lives and relationships can lead to emotional burnout. We look at causes of emotional burnout and bring forward 4 strategies for approaching healthy relating without making the burnout worse.

How do you build adult friendships amid all the…adulting? the key is balance, persistence, and being true to what you actually want! These are skills learned and re-learned over and over again in life. This week we expand on these three tips to help you go deeper with new and existing friendships.

Why do relationships fall apart, or fail to get off the ground? One reason can be a failure to create or maintain emotional safety. The best partner dancing requires trust, practice, and intuitive communication. By making space, making time, and making choices we can create the conditions for flourishing relationships

good indicators that it’s time to look at our unspoken expectations are when we notice a repeated behavior (or lack thereof) in a relationship that leads us to feel: misunderstood, confused, disappointed, ignored, resentful, or frustrated.

If we don’t examine those feelings and assumptions, over time the pattern can feel bigger and more overwhelming, or erode the strong foundation we once had. We offer some suggestions for understanding our unspoken expectations and 3 tips for talking about them.

this week we play with the concept of romance and encourage us to shift our understanding of romance: what it is, who it’s for, and how we build it. We offer 3 ways you can build romance into any kind of connection.

Misunderstanding, conflict, and tension are normal parts of relating. If we approach them with compassion, honesty, and curiosity they can be and are important parts of growing as people and deepening our relationships. Try these 3 questions the next time you find yourself in a rocky conversation.

While you may not be snowed in from where you’re reading, winter can be a great season for slowing down and building deeper connections with new and olds friends and crushes.

Whether you love the cold or really feel that Seasonal Affective Disorder (or both) each winter, it can be harder to think of things to do when it’s dark, cold, and Netflix acquires the West Wing - so here are 5 suggestions for winter fun and connection.

How do we help connections last? What are lasting connections meant to feel like?

The upheaval of our 20s and 30s - moving through young adulthood, romantic relationships, different jobs, changing towns - can make us feel like we’ve forgotten (or never knew) what it takes to have something that lasts. We’ll discuss vulnerability and how to practice it.

Today’s advice is for the down time, and the nourishing of your mind while you are navigating the world (or your world) falling apart. These books take a deeper dive into how we can use friendship, connection, and grief to forge a path in our lives, even when things look pretty bleak.

The turn of the year is a great time to give yourself a little shake and think about what worked, what didn’t, and how we want to be. Different that concrete resolutions or to do lists, we can think about our attitudes and challenge our assumptions.

Here at Skip the Small Talk we focus on friendship and dating, so these ideas will support you in creating, initiating, and responding to meaningful connections.

how do we actually make the changes we want to see in our lives?

Think of it as a relational question. How do you want to be with yourself? It is a process of questioning, mystery, vulnerability, discovery, and (often) quiet joy. Ultimately, it’s the journey and not the destination.