The Usual Place Podcast

From texting to talking: Why Gen Zs are taking classes on yapping

Find out why some Gen Zs are turning to social skills workshops.

Natasha Ann Zachariah

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If the first part of the headline has you nodding, then this episode of The Usual Place podcast is for you.

Some young adults are struggling with everyday conversations and other basic forms of social interaction.

Whether it’s making small talk with strangers, holding eye contact, or just answering a phone call (just text me please!), Gen Zs and millennials are declaring that dealing with other people isn’t always their vibe.

They need help to fix their awkwardness.

That’s where the School of Yapping by social impact organisation Friendzone comes in, reported The Straits Times in July. Over four workshops, participants aged 20 to 35

practise how to be “confident, connected, and comfortable” talking to others.

In this episode of The Usual Place, I will chat with Tham Jun Han, the 32-year-old co-founder of Friendzone; Nur Haziqah Mohd Yazib, a 25-year-old case worker who took part in the workshop recently; and Savanna Tai, a 22-year-old university student who has had to change the way she communicates as she wants to become a journalist.

We discuss why social interactions are harder now for young adults than ever before, whether the Covid-19 pandemic made things worse, and what we stand to lose if we don’t find a way to connect again.

Highlights (click/tap above):

2:40 As digital space becomes more familiar, real physical interaction is not common-sense anymore

5:20 School Of Yapping’s workshops centre around failure to understand group dynamics, how to start conversations

7:00 Why I have a big inertia in starting conversations in bigger groups: Haziqah

8:12 Being more comfortable as a silent person in a group: Savanna

9:18 “Getting phone calls is scary, why can’t you just text?”: Savanna on some Gen Z fears

10:41 Fear of judgement, deciding to get proper help: Haziqah

14:06 What makes for constructive yapping?: Tham on the challenge of youth not being able to express themselves

16:10 Haziqah and Savanna on their experiences in changing their skill sets and approaches so far

20:32 On personality tests

24:58 Could the Covid-19 pandemic have affected the way a generation communicates?

28:11 What will young people lose if they don’t know how to communicate well or are not socially confident?

31:12 Dangers of curating ‘friends’ online you would interact with; isolated from real life diversity in society

Read ST’s article on courses in yapping: