Let's talk - NI 'best conversationalists'

People in Northern Ireland "are also the top texters"

Northern Ireland has topped a poll in a survey of the UK's best talkers.

More than 85% of respondents believed they were good, very good, or excellent conversationalists, 6% ahead of their nearest rivals, the Scots.

People in Northern Ireland are also the top texters in the UK, with almost 80% texting friends and family on a weekly basis, it indicated.

The survey, carried out for a leading drinks firm, said the subject of death was the most likely to kill a conversation, followed by religion and then politics.

The survey suggested that despite the rise of modern technology, texts and emails were not replacing the personal touch and the art of conversation.

Dr Cynthia McVey, senior psychology lecturer at Glasgow Caledonian University said: "When people spend time with us, chatting about this and that, we feel good about ourselves - it means that other people like our company.

"We can also learn much from good conversation - it can inform us about places we haven't seen and experiences we may never have.

"We can be amused, and amusing, and thoroughly entertained by conversation. Simply, a bit of a blether with people in a comfortable social setting can be very rewarding."

In Northern Ireland, 72% of those surveyed said they contacted family and friends by email weekly and 100% said they met face to face.

However, Northern Ireland was lower down the scale when it came to enjoying talking about other people's private lives - on 55%.