A word for: someone who is easy to talk to
I want to convey the idea that such and such person is very easy to talk to.
I know that:
'talk to-able' is not a word, obviously.
I can always say, "He is very easy to talk to." But I am looking for a single word, not a phrase.
The word 'talkable' changes the meaning. Eg, if I say, "He is very talkable," the meaning tends to become (a) either, he is a topic/subject worthy of talking, (b) or, he can be talked over or shut up easily!
I can get away with words like approachable, accessible, reachable etc but I feel there has got to be a better word.
Is there any?
Thanks much.
EDIT
Sometimes, there are people at work who, officially, can be 'approached' for questions. But their tone and body language, consciously or unconsciously, is such that they make you feel very uncomfortable approaching them next time around especially if there are choices available. So while they are there, 'accessible' etc for you officially, yet they are not all that 'easy to talk to'! Note that, I'm not necessarily looking for 'chatty' people either, but rather those who I can ask even stupid questions fearlessly because... again, they are 'very easy to talk to', with minimal ego, arrogance, and air about them.
EDIT 2
I am also happy with Dave Mulligan's "approachable" and ermanen's very clever "easy-to-talk-to".
Affable: (from TFD)
- Easy and pleasant to speak to; approachable.
From Etymonline we gain insight into the reason "Affable" might work to describe "people who are easy to talk to":
- late 15c.,
- from Old French afable (14c.)
- from Latin affabilis "approachable, courteous, kind,friendly,"
- literally "who can be (easily) spoken to,"
- from affari "to speak to,"
- from ad- "to" + fari "to speak"
NB: Reformatted for clarity. Emphasis by ScotM.
It seems affable people have been easy to talk to for a long time.
I would probably choose "approachable". You almost used it in your "Edit" paragraph, and I think it describes exactly the concept you're describing.
While Affable is clearly the most precise match...
Personable is often used as a synonym and is still in general use.
per·son·able adjective \ˈpərs-nə-bəl, ˈpər-sə-nə-bəl\
: friendly or pleasant in manner : easy to get along with
source
The loosely related word congenial comes to mind;
adjective
(of a person) pleasing or liked on account of having qualities or interests that are similar to one's own.
Congenial does of course imply a specificity to oneself rather than a more generalized 'easy-to-talk-to-ness', on account of mutual interests.
Source