Small talk in English: questions, topics and how to keep it going

What is small talk, and why does it matter?

Small talk is short, polite conversation about unimportant things, like the weather or the weekend, usually with people you don’t know well. It feels empty, but it does a real job: it shows you’re friendly, it builds trust before more serious conversations, and at work it’s often how people decide whether they enjoy working with you.

It’s also more pleasant than people expect. In a series of experiments with more than 800 commuters in Chicago, people who were asked to talk to a stranger reported a more positive journey than those who sat alone, even though most had predicted the opposite (Epley and Schroeder, 2014).

For English learners, small talk is hard for a different reason: it’s fast, informal and full of fixed phrases. The good news is that the same questions and phrases come up again and again, so it’s one of the easiest kinds of conversation to prepare.

How to keep small talk going: answer, add, ask

The most common reason small talk dies is a one-word answer. Use three steps instead: answer the question, add one detail, then ask a question back. The detail gives the other person something to react to, and the question passes the conversation back.

Follow-up questions keep it going even longer. When someone tells you something, ask about it: “Which one?”, “How was it?”, “What made you choose that?” People enjoy talking to someone who’s curious about them.

44 small talk questions by situation

Choose questions that fit the place. Open questions (what, how, which) work better than yes/no questions, because they invite a longer answer.

Need deeper questions for longer conversations? Our English conversation topics has 96 questions by level, and our get to know you questions go from easy to deep.

“How are you?” isn’t really a question

In English-speaking countries, “How are you?”, “How’s it going?” and the British “You alright?” are greetings, not real questions. The expected answer is short and positive, followed by the same question back. Telling a colleague about your headache is fine with a friend, but too much for a greeting.

• “Good, thanks. You?” (the most common answer)
• “Not bad, thanks. How about you?”
• “Pretty busy, but good! How are things with you?”
• To “You alright?” (UK): “Yeah, good thanks, you?” It means “hello”, not “are you OK?”

Safe small talk topics, and topics to avoid

What counts as polite depends on the culture. These rules are for English-speaking countries like the US, UK, Canada and Australia, and for most international workplaces.

The weather deserves a special mention: in the UK especially, it’s the classic way to start talking to anyone. “Lovely day, isn’t it?” or “Freezing today!” is an invitation to chat, and the right answer is to agree and add something.

Phrases to start, keep going and end

Not understanding something is normal, even for native speakers in a noisy room. Asking “Sorry, could you say that again?” is much better than nodding and hoping: people are happy to repeat.

3 small talk examples to listen to

Listen first, then read each dialogue out loud, playing both parts. Notice how each person answers, adds a detail and asks back.

American and British small talk

• Greetings: Americans say “How’s it going?” and “What’s up?”; British people say “You alright?” and “How are you doing?”. All of them mean “hello”.
• Tone: American small talk is often more enthusiastic (“That’s awesome!”). British small talk is more understated and ironic (“Not bad at all” can mean “very good”).
• Weather: common in both, but in the UK it’s almost a ritual. Complaining about the rain together is friendly, not negative.
• Compliments: Americans compliment strangers more often (“I love your jacket!”). Answer with “Thank you!” and maybe a short detail (“Thanks, I got it in Lisbon”).

Practise small talk out loud

1. Pick five questions from the list above and answer each one out loud with the answer–add–ask technique.
2. Prepare three “add” details about yourself: a recent weekend, your job in one sentence, something you’re watching or reading.
3. Practise one way to end a conversation until it feels natural.
4. Use it for real: say one extra sentence to a colleague, a neighbour or a shop assistant this week.

For practice without the pressure, YoFluent’s “Small talk” call has an AI tutor chat with you like a colleague or a new friend, then scores your fluency, pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary. See how an AI tutor call works, or learn how to keep a conversation going. Preparing for work? See how to answer “Tell me about yourself”.