Jessica St. Clair on Her and Casey Wilson's New Audiobook on Small Talk: 'A Love Letter to Kim Kardashian' (Exclusive)

The actresses' and podcast hosts' new audiobook, "The Art of Small Talk," delves into the benefits of meaningful small talk

Casey Wilson and Jessica St. Clair learned an important lesson about small talk from an unlikely source in New York City's Javits Center bathroom.

“My best friend Lennon Parham and I have had to pump breast milk,” St. Clair, 47, tells PEOPLE. “So we’re hooked up like two cows to these breast pumping machines. And it was for some upfronts of a television show that, of course, was probably getting canceled the next day, but we were forced to be there. And who comes out of the stall? Kim Kardashian. And she scuttled her little Skims fanny right up to me, placed her hand on my shoulder, and said, ‘Been there.’”

“If this book is nothing more than a love letter to Kim Kardashian, I'm okay with that,” she adds.

The book in question is Wilson and St. Clair’s forthcoming audiobook, The Art of Small Talk, announced exclusively with PEOPLE. St. Clair’s meeting with Kardashian is just one example of meaningful small talk — a topic that is more influential than some may think, as authors, actresses and comedians Wilson and St. Clair discuss.

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The idea for the six-hour audiobook, Wilson says, was born out of the pandemic.

“One loss that we felt was just simple: our lack of interaction with people, specifically just when you're shooting the s--- with people that you don't know,” Wilson, 43, says. “And for most people, we came to find that's an absolute nightmare. But for us, it was like a cord had been plugged out of the wall when we were not able to small talk with strangers.”

“The reason we wrote this audiobook is because people who think they hate small talk, they actually don't,” St. Clair says.

Wilson and St. Clair use humor and expert research to explore the many benefits to small talk. One way to view it is as an act of kindness, both for yourself and the other person. Another is to see it from different perspectives. Both Wilson and St. Clair agree that the audiobook, which will include snippets of small talk trainees, will be helpful for both introverts and extroverts. 

“Our instincts as extroverts, to help somebody be better at small talk, are actually opposite to what an introvert needs,” St. Clair says. Having both extroverts and introverts read the book would also be helpful for bridging the gap between the personality types.

“Whether or not you are somebody who thinks you're comfortable with small talk, you may be making it more uncomfortable for somebody and you don't realize that,” St. Clair says.

The Art of Small Talk will also include interviews with a variety of figures, including mental health professionals and comedians, like Colin Quinn and Amy Poehler, who St. Clair says is “one of the best small talkers in the biz.”

“She has a way of being in the world of small talk because, obviously, a lot of people want to talk with her, which is making everybody feel important and seen and heard. But as soon as she's getting in, she's also getting out, and so there's techniques,” Wilson adds.

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Both Wilson and St. Clair agree, however, that small talk is more than just a way to fill time.

“I've had the experience where someone says something to you [and] it's almost like it was meant to be that you had that conversation,” Wilson says. “Jess and I do believe there's kind of a cosmic, spiritual component to small talk that actually, even if you don't believe it, sort of just makes life more fun.”

It can also be life-saving, as St. Clair knows. Small talk allowed her to get an earlier appointment with a doctor when she had a life-threatening medical scare.

“When people see you as a person, as a human being with a soul, and that can be achieved by small talk, you can get these life-saving opportunities that you wouldn't have,” she says.

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With the holidays coming up, Wilson and St. Clair have also come up with a few ways to navigate small talk during family gatherings. One of their tips is to discuss “safe topics.” A few examples? The Golden Girls, Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift and cults.

“Just things everyone can rally around and have an opinion on that ultimately don't matter,” Wilson says.

The Art of Small Talk will be available on May 7, 2024 from Pushkin Industries.

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