22 Great Phrases For Small Talk | English Speaking Practice!

Hello my amazing students.

Today I'm going to help you feel confident  starting and having conversations in English.

You're learning English because  you want to speak it, right?

So you are going to learn how to do that  with these essential small talk phrases.

Welcome back to JForrest English.

Of course, I'm Jennifer.

Now let's get started.

First of all, you might be  wondering what is small talk?

Small talk is polite conversation about  unimportant and uncontroversial topics.

Remember unimportant small  talk is supposed to be boring.

Now when can you make small talk?

First of all, notice I said you make small talk?

That's the verb you use.

Make small talk.

I learned how to make small talk today.

So let's talk about when you make small talk.

Maybe you get to a meeting early and there are  three to 5 minutes before the meeting starts.

Perfect time to make small talk.

You're in the elevator with a  coworker or someone you don't know.

Or maybe you're waiting in line  at the grocery store or the bank.

Or a perfect time when you  sit down beside a stranger.

Like when you sit down on a plane and you're going  

to be sitting next to that person for  five hours, you can make small talk.

Let's talk about why you should make small talk.

This will help you understand  why it's supposed to be boring,  

because small talk is just to fill silence.

So if your elevator ride takes 30 seconds,  you can go down 30 seconds in silence,  

or you can have 30 seconds of a boring  conversation with your Co worker or a stranger.

The choice is yours.

It's also to make the other  person feel more comfortable.

If you sit down on that plane and you're going  to be sitting beside this other person for five  

hours, simply exchanging a few words will  make both of you feel more comfortable.

So now let's talk about all the phrases that  

you need to make small talk,  just like a native speaker.

The first category is the weather.

Nothing is more boring than talking about the  weather, so it's the perfect topic for small talk.

Now, because we work virtually now  and you have members of your team all  

over the world, You can say what's  the weather like in Toronto today?

Assuming you're not in Toronto.

So you can ask them, oh, what's the  weather like in your city today?

Now don't worry about writing down any of  

these phrases because I summarize  everything in a free lesson PDF.

You can find the link in the description.

You can make a simple statement  like beautiful day, isn't it?

That's a great one with a stranger  when you're going in an elevator.

Beautiful day, isn't it?

Notice you're adding, isn't it?

As a question tag, you could  say I hear it's supposed to  

rain this weekend, so it's supposed to.

That's in the future.

Oh, I hear it's supposed to rain tonight,  tomorrow, the next day in the weekend next month.

Any future reference You can  make a general statement.

I'm really looking forward to spring and the  other person will likely say, yeah, me too.

It's been such a long winter.

I know, right?

And then you just naturally have a  boring conversation about the weather.

Another simple statement.

Looks like looks like another hot weekend.

And then again, just like before.

Yeah, doesn't it?

What are you going to do?

And then you can naturally start  talking about the weather or you  

can transition into the weekend, which  we will learn about in just a second.

One final expression for you.

This one is a question.

Is it still snowing?

Now you can use this one if  you have been in the office  

or inside and you're asking someone  and you know they were just outside,  

or you might not know, but you're  assuming that they've been outside.

Is it still snowing?

Is it still raining?

Is it still cloudy?

Is it still sunny?

And then obviously you use whatever weather  is appropriate for the specific time.

Another boring category that but  everyone loves talking about traffic.

Just ask your Co worker or  that stranger in the elevator.

How was the traffic?

How was the traffic coming in this morning?

Leaving whatever the time of day is now  if you know the person takes a specific  

route then you could ask them did you get  stuck in the traffic on Main Street too  

Because you know your Co worker or the person  you're talking to had to take Main Street.

Now even if you this is a stranger  but you're at the airport so they  

have to take a certain road to get to the airport.

So you can still use this with strangers.

You can make a simple statement like the bus was  

20 minutes late today so you  don't need a car to use these.

You can use whatever method of  transportation that you use.

Another question for you, do you know when  and then ask something traffic related?

Do you know when the bridge is supposed  to be fixed and this is a bridge that  

the person you're talking to will  100% know is under construction?

Again, this could be with a stranger because to  get to the airport you have to go over a bridge.

Now keep in mind when you're making small  talk, you don't actually care about the answer.

Remember, that's not the goal.

The goal isn't to find out when  the bridge is going to be fixed.

The goal is simply to have a boring conversation,  

to fill time, to kill time, and to  make the other person feel comfortable.

Our next category?

Topical events.

A topical event is simply something  that people are talking about right now.

It could be a holiday, a sports event.

It could be a new movie, something on the news.

It's topical.

People are talking about it.

So if it's the time of year of the Olympics or  just before, just after, and you're sitting next  

to a stranger on the train, you could just ask  them, oh, what's your favorite Olympic sport?

And the question will seem normal and natural  because everyone is talking about the Olympics  

or if it's award season, you could ask  who do you think will win Best Actor?

If it's a holiday, a major holiday, you could ask  them are you staying in New York for Christmas?

Or you could ask another question related  to that holiday around Thanksgiving.

In North America, everyone buys a Turkey.

So it would seem extremely  appropriate to ask a someone,  

even a stranger, have you bought your Turkey yet?

And it could turn into a really  interesting conversation because  

they might have a story about it,  or they might say, oh, actually we  

don't celebrate Thanksgiving because I'm from  and maybe they're from a different country.

And then, even if they don't celebrate it, you  can still have an interesting conversation.

So it's a great conversation starter.

Maybe there's a community  event and you can ask them,  

do you know anyone running  the marathon this weekend?

And even if the answer is no, well,  then you can still go back and forth.

Oh yeah, me neither.

I don't like sports too much.

Oh, what do you like?

And then it will naturally evolve.

Movies are a great choice.

There's always a new movie or a new Netflix  show, or even a new popular YouTube video.

And you could ask them, have you  seen the new Star Wars movie yet?

And even again, even if they say no.

Oh, what kind of movies do you like?

Oh, you don't like movies, You like music.

What kind of music do you like?

And then conversation can naturally evolve.

Just remember that small talk should  be boring and non controversial.

Of course elections are topical events,  but you don't want to talk about elections  

when you're having small talk with a  stranger or someone in the elevator.

You should not ask them.

Did you vote yet?

Who did you vote for?

That is inappropriate for small talk.

Our final category, the weekend,  something everyone loves talking about.

Now keep in mind if this is on a Tuesday,  

you can talk about the last weekend, if  this is on a Thursday, the future weekend.

And if it's on a Wednesday, well, you can decide.

You can talk about either one past or future.

So there's always a weekend to discuss.

Did you do anything exciting this weekend?

Now this is in the past.

Maybe on a Monday or Tuesday.

You can just change this to the  future if it's Thursday or Friday.

Are you doing anything exciting this weekend?

What are you up to this weekend?

Native speakers love using this  expression that's in the future.

In the past, what were you up to this weekend?

Being this past weekend, an easy one.

Do you have any plans?

Do you have any plans this weekend?

Asking for a recommendation or advice  again, even if you don't actually want  

the recommendation or advice,  is a great conversation starter.

You can ask Do you know of any events  happening this weekend or can you recommend?

Can you recommend a great Italian restaurant or  

just restaurant in general or  whatever restaurant you want?

Or you could ask them what's  your favorite cafe near here?

I love asking this question because I get to  go to new places I would never find on my own,  

and I have tried some amazing  spots just by asking strangers oh,  

what's your favorite restaurant near here?

What's your favorite cafe near here?

You always learn interesting results.

Now you have more than enough small  talk phrases to get you started.

Remember, everything is summarized in that free  

lesson PDF, so look in the  description for the link.

Do you want me to make more lessons  teaching you more small talk?

If you do, then put Let's talk, put Let's  talk 'cause that's the purpose of small talk.

Let's talk.

Put that in the comments.

And of course, make sure you like  this video, share with your friends  

and subscribe so you're notified  every time I post a new lesson.

And you can get this free speaking  guide where I share 6 tips on how  

to speak English fluently and confidently.

You can click here to download it or  look for the link in the description.

And why don't you keep expanding  your vocabulary so you can have  

great conversations with this lesson right now?