hrefna , 
slams desk emphatically THANK YOU. This matches my exact experience with small talk and gives me a good analogy for it.
The one comment on cockatiels is just chef's kiss, because that is exactly how it works with birds (and in people, though we like to deny it).
It's not my favorite mode of interaction, but if you understand its purpose as a social ritual it seems a lot less meaningless.
The other thing: I like to stick it at the end of the conversation.