Real talkers (clockwise from top left) Munroe Bergdorf, Paapa Essiedu, Mel B, Brit Bennett, Jackie Kay, Nicola Adams, Lennie James and Lolly Adefope. Photographs: Yves Salmon; Emmanuel Robert Owusu-Afram; Sean Pressley; Jamal Yussuff-Adelakun; Chantel King; Anthony Francis; Pedro Oliveira. Illustrations: Nasreen Ahmed. All for the Guardian Conversations this year have, by necessity, become more intentional than ever. The silence and stillness of the pandemic â which emptied streets, rolled cars into garages, quelled the chatter of local supermarkets â was both soothing and terrifying. No longer would you sit for hours making small talk with your favourite hair braider. No longer would you bump into a friend at the shops. Control over conversations reigned, at a time when the virus was taking over the rest of our lives.