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[The How-To Issue]

How to maintain a conversation in the most awkward situation imaginable

Think wax. And exposed nether regions.

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Illustration: Travis Jackson

There’s your proctologist, that stranger at the bar and the people with body odor sandwiching you in the middle seat during a really long flight. But perhaps there’s no more awkward situation for conversation than a Brazilian bikini wax.

While you lie prone and pantsless in a brightly lit room, a stranger yanks the hair from down there with a view usually reserved for lovers and medical professionals. Keeping up a friendly dialogue isn’t just impressive, it’s crucial, making a potentially traumatizing experience into something totally tolerable, if not quite pleasant.

Which is why Tricia Hetherington is the perfect person to instruct us in the art of small talk. Hetherington owns 14 Pretty Kitty waxing salons, has licensed eight more and, as she puts it, has “spun a lot of wax.” She still helps train new aestheticians, teaching them to minimize pain and keep up the convo, but her advice applies to situations where you’re wearing pants, too.

First, find some common ground. Hetherington asks questions until she hits on something that works: Do you have a dog? Going anywhere for the holidays? How about that exceedingly rare, Sloan-area earthquake recently?

Doing the asking allows you to control the conversation, giving you an extra dose of confidence that works just as well at the bar as in the salon. And when all else fails, Hetherington says civilians can always resort to something that doesn’t fly in the hair-removal business: a good, stiff drink.

Pretty Kitty 2510 St. Rose Parkway, Henderson, 702-228-7877. 8995 W Flamingo Road, 702-221-7877.

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