How to respond to "How was your weekend?" - Small talk in English

- Hi there.

I'm your English coach, Christina,

and welcome to Speak English with Christina,

where you'll learn American culture

and business know-how to become confident in English.

Weekends are a terrific topic for small talk.

Americans may ask you about your weekend plans

starting from Thursday and even as early as Wednesday.

Maybe you've already heard questions like,

what are you doing this weekend?

What do you have going on this weekend?

Or, do you have any big plans for the weekend?

And when you return to work or school on Monday,

what is the most common question that you'll hear?

How was your weekend?

Weekends are a great subject for making small talk,

especially if you did something fun over the weekend

and wanna share.

However, if you didn't do anything special over the weekend,

this question may make you feel a little like you don't have

anything to say, like you're gonna kill the conversation.

Don't worry, I feel you.

In this episode, you'll learn some responses

for when people ask, how was your weekend,

when you actually did something.

And then, in the second half of the episode,

you'll learn how to respond in a friendly way

without killing the conversation,

even if you didn't do anything at all over the weekend.

Let's go.

(upbeat rock music)

Talking about the upcoming weekend or the weekend

that's just passed is a fantastic small talk subject.

Who doesn't love their weekends?

And there are a ton of other fun small talk ideas

that I'd love to share with you, too.

That's why I have a new course available,

designed to help you master social situations

and everyday conversations in your professional life.

It teaches you how to socialize with confidence

and build up those important personal

and professional relationships, get techniques

to make you a good conversationalist,

as well as understand cultural differences

on a deeper level.

If you want interesting conversations

without feeling awkward

and to make real connections in business,

there's a link in the show notes, below the video,

with more information about the course.

(upbeat music)

When Wednesday or Thursday rolls around,

your colleagues may ask, do you have any plans this weekend,

or a similar question.

A good format is to respond with

what you're gonna do and because.

Your plans may be anything from seeing a movie,

going out of town, even reading a new book.

For example, you could say,

yeah I'm gonna go see this new "Star Trek" movie,

and then, describe the activity with because,

like, yeah, I'm gonna go see the new "Star Trek" movie

because I'm a big fan.

Star Trek fans, you'll know what that thing is.

And if you don't know, look it up.

Here's another example.

Do you have any plans this weekend?

Yeah, I'm gonna bake a cake

because it's my best friend's birthday

and she loves chocolate

and I thought it'd be a nice surprise.

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It's Monday morning

and you can expect about five people at work

to all ask you, what'd you do over the weekend?

Did you have a good weekend?

How was your weekend?

It's okay.

You're feeling pretty good about this question today

because you did stuff over the weekend.

Again, it's best to respond with an activity

that you did over the weekend and something about it.

This could be a reason why you did the activity

or if you enjoyed it.

For example, how was your weekend?

It was good.

I saw the new "Star Trek" movie.

I dressed up as my favorite character

and everything, but the movie itself

wasn't so good and I feel asleep.

But I don't think I was the only one.

Or, how was your weekend?

It was great.

I went shopping with my sister and I picked up a new dress,

and it fits like a glove.

And fits like a glove, it's an expression

in English that means something fits very well.

(upbeat music)

Or if you wanna be a bit funny,

I took a flight to London Friday evening

and had dinner with the Prince Harry and Meghan.

And yes, I saw their baby and he's even cuter in person.

They offered to fly me to Pamplona

for the running of the bulls.

Unfortunately, I had to decline the invitation

because I had already committed

to the opera with Ryan Reynolds.

(upbeat music)

Anyway, how was your weekend?

Now, that is a very bad British accent.

My British friends, I do apologize.

I love your accent.

I just don't do it very well.

Uh oh.

It's a Monday morning

and does it seem like twice as many people

are asking you, how was your weekend?

What did you do this weekend?

Oh, did you have fun this weekend?

Did you have a good weekend?

Ah, yes, you're sure at least 10 people have asked you,

but you didn't do anything over the weekend,

so now, you feel like a lazy, boring person.

Don't worry, you're still your charming self

and you can still respond in a friendly, interesting way,

even though you didn't do anything over the weekend.

But first, here's a tip.

It's best not to respond with, I stayed home.

Or, I didn't do anything.

Or simply, nothing.

No, if you'd like to engage in friendly small talk,

we'll need a more personable response.

The key here is to show enthusiasm when making small talk,

even if you didn't do anything special over the weekend.

So let's learn some terrific responses,

so you can respond in a fun way,

even if you didn't have any fun over the weekend.

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Let's say all you did over the weekend

was hang around the house in your pajamas and sleep.

What might sound boring to you

may sound like a dream to someone else.

For example, how was your weekend?

Oh, it was good.

I stayed home and caught up on my beauty sleep.

I've been so busy lately.

It was good to finally have some me-time

and get my beauty sleep.

As you may have guessed,

me-time is time for me or you, rather.

It's basically time for yourself,

to rest, relax, and refresh your energy.

And beauty sleep means restful sleep

that gives you a more youthful appearance

or it sounds like something worth doing

over the weekend, don't you agree?

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Maybe you cleaned all weekend.

Well, that isn't nothing.

It's something.

Again, other people may wish that they had the luxury

to have the time to clean their house all weekend,

instead of letting everything pile up

because they don't have time to clean.

So for example, how was your weekend?

Yeah, it was okay.

I cleaned my apartment from top to bottom.

I've been traveling a lot for work

and I just haven't had time to keep it tidy.

(upbeat music)

Even though you didn't do anything over the weekend,

perhaps you had an interesting dream.

You could say, my weekend was okay.

I didn't do much, but I had this strange dream.

I dreamt that I was chimpanzee on a rollercoaster.

I mean, what about you?

Do you remember any weird dreams lately?

Are you seeing a pattern here?

Small talk doesn't have to be mind-blowing.

No, friendly conversation can be made about anything,

even a strange dream about a chimpanzee on a rollercoaster.

Who cares?

So to recap, if you feel like

you didn't do anything over the weekend

and you still wanna have

a friendly conversation, don't despair.

As long as you're enthusiastic

and provide a detail or two,

you can still participate in small talk.

And remember, what may seem boring to you,

such as sleeping or cleaning,

could be a dream come true for your colleague,

so feel free to share.

(upbeat music)

Now, what about you?

What do you say when people ask you about your weekend?

And what do you say for those weekends

where you didn't do anything?

Share your tips

and your answers with other

English students in the comments.

And if you've been a student

of American English for years now

and you still feel awkward making small talk,

check out my new course designed

to help you master social situations

and everyday conversations in your professional life.

The link for more information is below in the show notes.

And thank you so much for learning

with Speak English with Christina

and I'll see you next time.