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Must Know Small Talk in English

There are two types of small talk: the kind you have with strangers, and the kind you have with people you already know. This article focuses on small talk with people you already know, as I have seen this be a challenge for many learners.


Not all languages and cultures use small talk, but people in the United States (and other countries) make small talk regularly. If you want to be a great conversationalist, small talk is key! This article gives common questions, replies, and general etiquette to help you master your conversation skills with Americans and many others.


In the United States, we almost always start a conversation by asking the other people how they are doing, and we might also ask if they have any life updates they would like to share. These small interactions might seem pointless but they are actually a really important part of how we interact with each other.


The first few moments of the conversation set the tone for the interaction. Start it out right!

The odd thing is, the questions we ask each other don't require an honest answer, and this might be strange for you depending on your cultural background. The positive side to this is you don't need to think too much about your answer! In fact, if you pay attention to conversations, you'll notice you hear the same generic questions and answers over and over again. While it might feel silly and meaningless, I do recommend you participate in the small talk - it is culturally polite, shows you are friendly, and leaves a good impression on people.



The most widely used small talk starters to use with people you already know

Questions

When to ask it

Common Replies

  • How are you?

  • How are you doing?


You might have seen online content saying to avoid this phrase because "it's boring." This isn't true. We use it all the time. It's classic and never goes out of style!



  • Great, thanks, how about you?

  • Pretty good, how about you?

  • Not too bad, how's it going with you?

  • Everything is going fine/good/great.

  • I'm hanging in there.

  • How was your day?

  • How's your day going?

When you talk to someone after work or in the evening, you can ask them how their day was.

If you meet someone midday, ask them how their day is going.

  • Pretty good, how was yours? / how is yours?

  • It's going! What about you?

  • How have you been?

  • How are things?

  • How's it going?

  • How are things with you?

  • How's life?

  • How's life treating you?

All of these work well when you haven't spoken with someone in a while.

  • Great, thanks, how about you?

  • Pretty good, how about you?

  • Not too bad, how's it going with you?

  • Everything is going fine/good/great.

  • I'm hanging in there.

  • What's new?

  • What's new with you?

  • Anything new?

  • What have you been up to?

This one has generic replies that are quite common, but if you do have something notable to share - go ahead! Make a comment about work or a recent vacation you've taken, for example. Generally we keep it short, though.

  • Not too much, how about you?

  • Not a whole lot, what's new with you?

  • Nothing, really. You?



A sample conversation:


👨🏼 Hey, Louise!

👩🏽‍🦰 Hey, Mark! How's it going?

👨🏼 Ah, pretty good! What about you? What's new with you?

👩🏽‍🦰 Hanging in there! Not too much going on. Waiting for the weekend!

👨🏼 I feel you on that!

👩🏽‍🦰 What about you? How's life treating you?

.....


You can imagine how the conversation will continue. Mark will share a detail from his life and they'll discuss that topic for a bit. In this example the conversation goes back and forth. Each person gets a chance to share, and feels noticed.


How to be a fluent, confident speaker? Don't skip the small talk!


Don't forget to return the question when someone asks you a "small talk question". It's easy to forget when you are focusing too much on your own English. You're thinking about how to answer correctly and trying to avoid mistakes - but this is important. When a person asks you what is new in your life, you should ask them, too. You don't have to ask the exact same question - pick one from the list or simply say "how about you?" / "and you?"


This is how you avoid that awkward silence that occurs when no one knows what to say.



Feel free to leave a comment, or ask me a question in the section below.



Happy learning!


Shereen



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