Do you like to banter?
It just seems like a very Aussie thing to do - giving each other stick or geeing each other up or engaging in one-upmanship. And all the time smiling while you're doing it. Daring someone to get on board the banter train and let's have a laugh along the way.
But, it seems, Canberrans do not engage in banter very well.
We may be the Bush Capital, but we ain't the banter capital.
We didn't even make the top 10 list of cities for best banter, a study by Preply showed.
Sydney came out top, followed by Melbourne. What? Sydney? Hard to get someone to say 'Hello', let alone engage in some banter. Melbourne? Meh. Is it all that AFL-related banter? How 'bout those Pies?
The next-best banter cities were Darwin, Cairns and Newcastle. Easier to understand - all knockabout, down-to-earth places. Somewhere you can imagine having a conversational toe-to-toe. All lighthearted, of course.
And Canberra? Canberra didn't even rate a mention.
Sitting within earshot of the sports reporters at The Canberra Times, I find this hard to believe.
These guys - and gal - are banter pros, never afraid to give it to each other, always having a laugh.
Throw in the acerbic wit of arts reporter Ron Cerabona who sits right next to the sports section and who often throws a chatty grenade their way and, well, most days you have a full-on banter-a-thon.
But is it so in other workplaces? Has the risk of offending someone drained the life out of banter? Made us more inclined to hide behind a petition than try to engage a workmate in a conversational battle of wits?
The study reckons Aussies banter with sarcasm, irony and self-deprecation. We banter to make someone laugh, but also to build rapport or to diffuse a tense situation and "challenge and stimulate conversation". Off-limits topics included choice of partner, political views, bad hairstyle and fashion sense.
The survey of just over 1500 Australians aged 16 or over found most banter happens at a barbecue or in the pub.
But, after our partner, the people we're most likely to banter with are our colleagues. Just off-site, maybe?
Fifty-two per cent of Australians believed bantering in the workplace was appropriate as long as it was lighthearted.
Fifteen per cent of people, however, thought banter at work "ran the risk of causing tension between employees, which could lead to two people finding it awkward to work together".
Does bantering stand the pub test in today's trussed-up, HR-honed workplace? Is banter doomed in a WFH environment?
University of Canberra associate professor in social science Michael Walsh said banter in the national capital might be tempered by its large public service which was, by its very nature and to its very core, hierarchical. Not so easy to banter up the chain, perhaps.
"[The public service] probably does have that somewhat more formal layering in which people feel less inclined to banter, potentially," he said.
"Whereas smaller workplaces probably develop their own culture and informalities, which makes banter easier."
Dr Walsh said banter was an example of "phatic communication", in the realm of small talk, where it was all about making a connection, rather than conveying any meaningful information.
"It oils the social wheel, so to speak, and makes the interaction more pleasurable and lighthearted, which is sometimes called for in particular workplaces where stresses can be high," he said.
Dr Walsh said there could a fine line between bullying and bantering, depending on the tone and subjects, and whether it was being used to isolate someone.
"But, at the same time, it can bring people together, especially colleagues and make them feel part of the culture of a workplace, which I think is a positive thing," he said.
So, Canberrans. It's getting warmer. Barbecue season is upon us. Time to get our banter on?
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