When docked on stations, NPCs will occasionally start talking and when they do, a speech bubble appears over their head to help us identify them in a crowd.
This is our queue to undertake an optional mini game if we wish. There are quite a few conversational topic permutations from the mundane (chatting about holo dancers) to the serious (concerns about messing with AI). Since they add colour to the game world, they can be interesting.
Unfortunately, the discussions cannot be sped up or skipped and there are a finite number so in the end, it is possible to get frustrated by them. This is where the 'Boarderless Windowed mode' comes in handy as alt+tab to a website cuts the audio but lets you see how things progress if you keep the website clear of the subtitles. That's what I do anyway 
Potential rewards from successful small talk mini games (numbers corresponding with radial menu):
- Ask for: Discount (your choice of a discount with them or a station).
- Ask about: Job applicant (You'll receive directions to a best-stared* NPC in the Zone).
- Trade Updated.
- Give: Item (a craftable gift unlocks a second mini game for 'Training Manuals' that add a star* to a hired NPC).