the agenda
The original motivating force behind talking taboos was to give strangers the opportunity to talk openly about uncomfortable things.To date we’ve been lingering on friendly philosophical discussion, mostly due to my own fear of putting people on the spot with uncomfortable questions in a public setting. However consistent participant feedback keeps coming back: “less philosophy, more taboo!”.
So. In swoops technology and saves the day in the guise of (drumroll)… the anonymised survey. We are going to start the evening’s conversation based on participants’ answers to the adjacent questions.
Interested in attending? Head over here to register.
Talkin' Taboos 20: Defining Awkward
TL: DR:
when: October 9, 2025 @ 7pm
where: Metis Bookshop (Gleimstrasse 21, 10437)**
donation: 3€ (goes directly to Metis)
what: an anonymous/optional survey (questions below) is going to provide the basis for our conversation.
For people who have randomly happened upon this event, below is a series of questions that attendees were asked to prompt our evening’s conversation:
what (if anything) makes you nervous about other people?
• feelings of inferiority
• feelings of being judged
• fear of not sharing things in common
• fear of not being able to communicate in a relaxed way
• feelings of alienation due to perceived differences
• none of the above, what are you talking about, other people don’t make me nervous at all!
how do you deal with discomfort in social situations?
• keep quiet and observe.
• talk a blue streak and hope I’m making sense.
• thank fuck for smart phones (resumes doom scrolling)
• I avoid uncomfortable social situations.
• rely on friends/colleagues to keep things going.
what would you wish was (structurally) different (aka helpful) about social gatherings/encounters with strangers?
which (if any) of the following things do you feel uncomfortable discussing with others? (check all that apply)
• money/class
• relationship difficulties
• family difficulties
• breakups/being single
• health / illness
• mental health struggles
• religious/spiritual beliefs
• sex/fetishes
• failures
what life event would you like to discuss with someone else but are afraid to do so? (changing details for further anonymity is fine but please no 100% fiction)
were you ever cast out/made fun of as a child and if so, has it influenced your adult behaviour in any significant way?
• yes
• no
have you ever been wrongly judged by others without the opportunity to clarify/resolve the issue?
• yes
• no
• still trying to resolve just such a situation
have you ever publicly failed at anything?
• yes
• no
• depends on how you define failure (see next question)
if ‘yes’ to the previous question, how do/did you define failure?
what else? (missing questions/talking points on the subject)