A conversation expert whose TEDx talk on skipping small talk has drawn 7 million views brings her newly published book and a live demonstration of her method to Vroman’s Bookstore tonight at 7 p.m.
Kalina Silverman, creator of the “Big Talk” movement, will discuss and sign “Big Talk: How to Skip the Small Talk, Make Meaningful Connections, and Enrich Your Life,” published last month by Penguin Random House. Her conversation partner for the evening is Steve Goldbloom, creator of PBS NewsHour’s Emmy-nominated “Brief But Spectacular” series.
Silverman launched Big Talk in 2014 after graduating from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Her approach — asking strangers meaningful questions instead of defaulting to pleasantries — grew from a video project into a platform that has reached 500,000 social media followers and generated more than 125 million views, according to her website.
“What I learned in journalism school is how to approach strangers, face rejection and be fearless,” Silverman said in a recent interview with the Argonaut News.
The book, organized by theme, covers topics including approachability and curiosity. “Each chapter covers a different theme of Big Talk, like how to be more approachable for conversations, how to practice curiosity,” Silverman told the Argonaut News.
Silverman’s work gained additional visibility in early 2025 when she partnered with GoFundMe to interview survivors of the Los Angeles-area wildfires. She shared 90-second clips of the conversations on social media, and the videos helped raise over $2 million for disaster relief, according to her PBS NewsHour appearance. The wildfires included the Eaton Fire, which devastated large portions of Altadena, adjacent to Pasadena.
“I never thought ‘Big Talk’ could have that kind of tangible impact in people’s lives,” Silverman told the Argonaut News.
A Fulbright Scholar who conducted cross-cultural communications research in Singapore, Silverman now serves as a U.S. Fulbright Ambassador. Her Big Talk method has been adopted by organizations including the LA Lakers, Harvard Medical School, and Universal Music Australia, according to the Fulbright Program.
Goldbloom, who has interviewed more than 500 guests for “Brief But Spectacular,” provided a blurb for the book. “This book is the tool kit we need to unlock all the beauty hiding in plain sight,” Goldbloom wrote.
The event takes place at Southern California’s oldest independent bookstore, which has operated on Colorado Boulevard since 1894 and hosts more than 400 community events a year. The Vroman’s events page notes that a purchase of the book from the store is appreciated and helps make events like this possible.
Kalina Silverman discusses and signs “Big Talk: How to Skip the Small Talk, Make Meaningful Connections, and Enrich Your Life,” Monday, March 20, 2026, 7 p.m. Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. For more, call (626) 449-5320 or visit www.vromansbookstore.com/
