I met my wife when we were both posting on a forum about how we wanted to get married and have kids. We didn't start off with small talk and are now married an

I met my wife when we were both posting on a forum about how we wanted to get married and have kids. We didn't start off with small talk and are now married and have kids, so I think that disproves your notion of "all big and deep things start off small." Perhaps always starting small is one approach, but it's not a universal one. As another example, I'd point to this conversation. You and I don't need to engage in small talk here to share our thoughts on some subject. I directly state my opinion and you state yours and we can discuss. At no point do I need to ask how your day was, about the weather, or what you did over the weekend. I am interested in discussions (that's why I participate in them online) but I don't care about any of that banal stuff. I hope your weekend was great, but I don't need to know about it.