50 Small Talk Phrases In English

Have you heard the phrase ‘small talk’  before? ‘Small talk’ is the phrase we use  

to describe a polite conversation about  unimportant or uncontroversial matters.  

You might ‘make small talk’ with one of  your friends’ parents, or with someone you  

went to school with that you haven’t seen in a  while. It’s polite and it prevents a situation  

which feels awkward or uncomfortable. Small  talk is very much embedded into British culture.

Hello Everyone, Anna here from  englishlikeanative.com the site which helps you  

to speak English with confidence. And for those  of you who would love to have an English accent,  

you can download my free guide to sounding  British by clicking on the link below.

Today, I’m going to talk you through  

50 phrases you can use to make small  talk with someone you’ve met before.

1. “Fancy seeing you here!”
This is  a phrase we use when we see someone  

unexpectedly. If you run into an old friend at a  supermarket far away from either of your homes,  

you might say ‘fancy seeing you here’.  It’s commonly used sarcastically too,  

as a joke when you are fully expecting to  see someone and it’s not shocking at all.  

For example, if you run into a friend at the  same supermarket at the same time each week. 
 

2. “It’s so good to see you!”
This is a polite  way to say that you are happy to see somebody. 
 

3. “It’s great to see you again!”
You can use  this phrase when talking to someone you don’t  

know very well and might not see very often,  again to express that you are happy to see them.  

Make sure you only use this phrase  when speaking to someone you have  

met before, because of the word ‘again’.
 4. “How are you?”
When making small talk,  

it is polite to ask how somebody is. In British  culture, we tend to not share too much about  

our emotions in response to this question with  people we don’t know very well. Many people see  

it more as a polite question than a genuine one. 
 5. “How are you doing?”
This  

is very similar to ‘how are you’ but with more  of a focus on how you spend your time. Really,  

you can answer this question in many different  ways and steer the conversation towards  

what you would like to talk about. 
 6. “How are things?”
This is another vague  

question, so it’s one that you can interpret  in lots of different ways. The word ‘things’  

in this question could refer to your family, your  workplace, your studies, and almost anything else.  

Use context cues to help you work out what that  person might be referring to and if you’re still  

not sure, just pick a topic and go with it. 
 7. “What’s new?”
This question can be used  

to ask what’s the latest thing  going on in that person’s life.
 

8. “How long has it been?”
This question refers  to how long it has been since you last saw that  

person. You could reply with an event you last  saw them at, an estimate of how long it has been  

or even the phrase “too long” if you don’t know  the answer but you know it’s been a long time. 
 

9. Similarly, “it’s been too long!”
You can  

use this phrase when you haven’t  seen someone for a while to express  

that you’d like to see them more often. 
 10. “Let’s not leave it so long next time.”
This  

is another similar phrase which you  might say when saying goodbye to someone.  

It means that you would like to see them  again sooner than when you saw them last. 
 

11. “The last time I saw you, you  were about to move house. How did that  

go?”
You can change ‘about to move house’  for anything you remember about that person’s  

life from the last time you saw them. It shows  that you paid attention and that you remember  

the conversation, and gives that person an  opportunity to tell you more about their life.
 

12. “Did you end up moving house?”
You can  use this phrase if there was something that  

person was considering the last time you spoke but  you’re not sure if they followed through with it.  

This again gives them the opportunity to talk  about the decision they made, what their reasons  

were and what has happened since, so it’s  a good way to start a longer conversation.
 

13. “I remember you were planning  to move house. How did that  

go?”
This is another similar phrase  but with slightly different wording.  

It shows that person that you remember the  last conversation you had with them and are  

interested to know more about their life.
 14. “I heard you were moving house.”
You  

can use this phrase when the person  did not tell you that information  

themselves but you found out through a  mutual friend or someone you both know.  

Again, this encourages them to  tell you more about their life.
 

15. “I saw you were moving house.”
This is one  that we are hearing more and more often because  

of the use of social media. You might have seen  on someone’s Facebook page or Instagram that they  

were moving house, or about any other life event,  and use that as a way to make conversation. 
 

16. “Did you hear about Eleanor?” 
You can  swap the name ‘Eleanor’ for any name or phrase  

which summarises some recent news  that you might share an interest in.  

For example, if you both know Eleanor and she has  just announced that she is pregnant, you could say  

‘Did you hear about Eleanor?’.
 17. “You’ll never believe this!”
You  

can use this phrase before saying  something particularly shocking  

or unexpected. Typically, while gossiping.
 18. “Are you still working for Google?”
Swap  

the company name out for whichever company they  were working for the last time you saw them.  

This gives them the opportunity  to tell you about their work.
 

19. "Are you still with Google?”
This is another  way of asking if they still work for a company.
 

20. “How’s it going at Surrey University?”
You  could use the name of a school, college or  

university, or of a company they work for. 
 21. “How’s business?”
This is a more vague  

question, which is appropriate in many  different scenarios but it’s a fairly safe bet  

if you want to ask someone who is self-employed  or freelance about their work life.
 

22. “How’s work going?”
Again, this question  is very vague but allows the answerer  

to steer the conversation towards any  particular part or aspect of their  

work that they feel comfortable discussing.
 23. “How are your studies going?”
You can use  

this question to ask about school, college,  university or any other form of education.
 

24. “That’s great!”
This is a polite way to  respond to good news to show that you are happy  

for them. Here are some other options:
 25. “That’s wonderful!”
 

26. “That’s amazing!”
 27. “I’m so happy for you.”
 

28. “It’s so good to see your hard work paying  off.”
This one can be used if they are have been  

working on or towards something for a long  time and it is working out well for them. 
 

29. “Congratulations!” 
Use this when someone  tells you about a personal achievement or  

milestone. ‘Congratulations’ is always plural  in English. On the other hand, let’s look at a  

few phrases you can use when somebody tells you  about some bad or disappointing news for them.
 

30. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
This is a phrase  you can use to offer your sympathies in most  

situations. You can use a modifier to increase  the intensity to suit the situation. For example:  

“I’m so sorry to hear that” or  “I’m really sorry to hear that.”
 

31. “That’s terrible!” 32. “That’s awful!”
Use  

these phrases when someone tells you their bad  news to show that you sympathise with them.
 

33. “No way!”
This is a colloquial  phrase we use in English to express  

shock or surprise. 
 34. “I just can’t believe  

it.”
Use this phrase if somebody tells you some  really shocking, bad or disappointing news. 
 

35. “Well I hope everything will be alright.”
Be  careful when using this phrase because if used at  

the wrong time, it could be seen as dismissive.  Reserve it for the end of a conversation.
 

36. “Please give my regards to Stephen.”
This  is a formal phrase. To give or send ‘regards’  

means to send well wishes. You could use this to  refer to a person who is not present at the time.
 

37. “Say hi to Stephen for me.”
This is the  more casual version of that phrase. Again,  

use this to send a message to someone who is not  present but who the person you are speaking to  

lives with or is in regular contact with.
 38. “How are the kids?”
This  

one is fairly self-explanatory. You can  ask this to ask after someone’s children.
 

39. “How’s Stephen doing?”
Use this phrase to  ask more information about someone you know  

or know of who is not present.
 40. “What are the kids up to?”
You can  

change the phrase ‘the kids’ for anyone’s name  or another group of people like ‘your parents’.  

This question is used to ask what they  are doing or what they have been doing  

recently. It’s a great way to open up a longer  conversation by responding to whatever the  

answer is with more questions. 
 41. “Those glasses really suit you!”
Use  

this phrase if you want to give someone a  compliment about something specific that they  

are wearing. Change ‘those glasses’ to anything  else you would like to compliment. For example:  

“That colour really suits you”, or “that dress  really suits you”. If the object is singular,  

we use the verb form ‘suits’, but if the object is  plural, we use the base form of the verb: ‘suit’.
 

42. “You look great!”
This is  a more general compliment. 
 

43. “I’d better let you go.”
Use this phrase  to end a conversation in a polite way. This is  

a polite phrase to show that you respect their  time and to bring a conversation to an end. 
 

44. “I’d better be off."
This is a more  polite way to say ‘I need to leave’. 
 

45. “It’s been lovely catching up.”
Say this to  show how much you’ve enjoyed your conversation,  

but to imply that it is now time  for the conversation to end. 
 

46. “We should do this again soon.”
You  can say this to express that you’d like  

to see that person again soon and continue  your conversation. You could follow it up by  

making a plan to see them again. 
 47. “What about next weekend?”
Use  

this to suggest a day for you to  see them again. ‘Next weekend’ can  

be swapped for another day or time. 
 48. “Good luck with the new job."
Bring  

the conversation back to something they have  been talking about and show that you really  

paid attention to the conversation  by wishing them luck with something  

which might be difficult or nerve-wracking.
 49. “Have a lovely holiday.”
Use ‘have a lovely’  

when talking about a specific event, like  a holiday, or Christmas, or their birthday,  

or even just their weekend.
 50. “Have fun in Italy!”
Use  

‘have fun in’ before a place or ‘have  fun with’ before a person or event. 
 

So there we have 50 common  phrases you can use in small talk.  

Do you have any more tips for making conversation  in English? Share your ideas in the comments.