Small Talk in English — What to Say When You Don’t Know What to Say
🎯 A2–B1
⏱️ 5 min
💬 My first week in France: I was waiting for a meeting to start. Eight French colleagues. Silence. In Australia, we’d have talked about sport, weather, weekend plans. I had none of those reference points. Small talk is culturally loaded — but the phrases are learnable.
Small Talk — What to Say When You Don’t Know What to Say
Safe Topics
🌦️
Weather
Weather
✈️
Travel
Travel
🎬
Films / TV
Films / TV
📚
Books
Books
🍽️
Food
Food
🏖️
Weekend plans
Weekend plans
Useful Phrases
| Situation | What to say |
|---|---|
| Starting a conversation | “Great weather, isn’t it?” / “How was your weekend?” |
| Keeping it going | “Really? That sounds interesting. Tell me more.” |
| Reacting with interest | “Oh, did you? / Did you really? / That’s amazing!” |
| Ending politely | “Well, it was lovely chatting. I should get going.” |
| After a long break | “How have you been? / What have you been up to?” |
❌ Topics to Avoid (in British/Australian English)
Salary, age, religion, politics (with strangers), weight. These are considered too personal.
🎯 Quick Practice — Put the Conversation in Order
Number these lines 1–5 to make a natural small talk exchange:
- ___ “Yes, it’s supposed to be even nicer tomorrow.”
- ___ “Oh, lovely! Where are you going?”
- ___ “Beautiful morning, isn’t it?”
- ___ “We’re thinking of going to the coast.”
- ___ “It really is! We’re planning a picnic this weekend.”
Reveal Order ▼
3 → 1 → 5 → 2 → 4
✅ Takeaway: Small talk is a skill, not a talent. Start with weather or the weekend. Ask follow-up questions. Show genuine interest. End politely.
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