The findings of a survey published today show that pubs are the best environment outside the home for conversation.

The Courage Beer Conversations survey of 3,000 British adults found that the average person has 27 conversations every day and the most garrulous/gregarious (depending on your point of view) are Geordies. People from the North East of Britain average 33 per day with the Welsh not so very far behind with 32.

Fifty per cent of those quizzed have made new friends by talking to people in the pub and the pub is also the place where you are most likely to strike up a conversation with a stranger (43%) – followed by long-haul flights (38%) and nightclubs (27%).

Those questioned were split on whether modern technology has caused the art of conversation to wane in recent years with 52% believing people don’t talk face to face any more, whilst 48% think technology means we actually talk more, but through a different medium. Only a third of people count the conversations they have on social networks such as Twitter and Facebook as ‘proper conversations’.

Naturally, we feel these findings should come as no surprise to visitors of our site, but the message is worth passing on to our less enlightened friends and colleagues. If you want a decent conversation or to meet new people, close up that laptop, turn off your iPhone and get down the pub. (Obviously after you’ve used fancyapint.com to find the right pub to visit.)

Cheers!