National research by ChitChat Bingo – the UK’s friendliest bingo site – shows that small talk is a skill that goes hand in hand with the blow-dryer and scissors. Four out of 10 of us voted our hairdresser or barber to be the best small-talker we know.

Taxi drivers, long hailed as the kings of chat, only gleaned 19 per cent of the public’s vote but this still gave them second place in the national poll of chat-masters.

Bar and waiting staff scraped into third place and bars were shown to be a popular spot for 14 per cent of men to chat to strangers; but the chances are slim that they’ll be flirting with a woman as only 5 per cent of them admit to chatting with strangers in bars.

Although verbal dexterity is considered a must-have for politicians, their conversational skills were ranked poorly with a mere 2 per cent of Brits giving them the vote.

1. Hairdresser 41%
2. Taxi drivers 19%
3. Bar staff/waiter 12%
4. Salesmen & Retail assistants 9% each
5. Beauty therapist 5%
6. Hotel receptionists 2%
7. Politicians 2%
8. Airport check in staff 1%

Lee Knott, head of marketing services for ChitChat Bingo, said “Clearly we all need to picking up tips from our hairdressers before we start hanging around in bars trying to chat people up. Conversation is a great leveller, anyone can be good or bad at it regardless of your job, income or background. We all love it and most of us wish we were better at it!”

Research was conducted with 1,000 adults by YourSayPays and ChitChat Bingo.

For more information please contact David Child or Kimberley Nanson on 020 8332 9690 or email chitchat@lucre.co.uk.

About ChitChat Bingo

ChitChat Bingo is the friendliest bingo site on the net with ChitChatters playing slot games, scratch cards, progressives, casino and arcade games in addition to brilliant bingo giving ChitChatters the opportunity to win up to £100,000.

Launched in the UK in 2004 it has been entertaining people ever since. It currently sits on the IBN network running off G2 Software which pays out £10 Million pounds a month to its players and can claim to have winners every minute of the day.

ChitChat Bingo is the creation of Goldbond Marketing and St Minver and is committed to delivering ethical and responsible gaming. It is committed to responsible gaming practices and closely monitors activity to identify issues such as problem and underage gambling.

ChitChat Bingo guarantees it customers’ privacy and that all details are kept strictly confidential and will not be sold or distributed to any third parties.

St Minver Ltd is licensed in Gibraltar and is strictly regulated by the laws of the European Union with regard to Data Protection.