…is when you’re out for a meal, and you notice what the table next to you is talking about. And then someone at your table picks up on it, and moves your conversation in the same direction. It’s usually if the table next to you is talking about something universal, like travel or school or family. Conversational drift is less likely to happen if they’re talking about something extreme… that leads instead to ACP (Awkward Conversation Pause), when everyone at your table stops talking because you’re all listening in to the table next to you, because you can’t help yourselves cuz it’s so damn fascinating, but then you all become aware that your table has suddenly gone quiet, and somebody’s gotta say /something/ because the table next to you is becoming increasingly aware of your attentive pocket of quiet.
But of course, no one at your table can think of a thing to talk about now that’s unrelated to what you’re overhearing.
If you’re paying attention, you can sometimes notice two-way conversational drifts going on (sometimes if you’re at a ‘third’ table and are just observing the ebb and flow). Those are awesome. It’s like bartering topics. They give you travel, you go on travel for a while, then you give them organic, then they go on organic and add in heritage plants… and so on.
Communal conversation, all divided up, reserved-Canadian style.