#Ep. 23 Transform Your Small Talk Skills Today

Master the art of small talk with five essential conversation starters that will help you engage in any social setting with ease. This episode also includes practical role play exercises to build your confidence in real-life scenarios.

• Importance of small talk and overcoming anxiety 
• Five key phrases to initiate conversation 
• Techniques for discussing weather and sports 
• Interactive role play to practice new skills 
• Encouragement to engage in real-life conversations

Chapters

• 0:00 Master Small Talk Skills With Natalie
• 10:13 Engage in Casual Conversation Practice

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hello and welcome to today's episode of Learn English with Natalie. I want to ask you do you often get anxious when thinking about small talk? Do you ever find yourself in a situation with somebody who speaks English they might not be a friend, they might just be an acquaintance or a colleague and you have to fill those awkward silences with small talk, but you never know what to say. Well, worry not, we're going to fix that today, so that you never run out of any ideas for conversation. Today, I am going to teach you five new English questions and conversation openers so that you never have to worry about small talk again. We are also going to conduct a role play activity so that you can practice your small talk skills. Don't forget to download the PDF file that comes with this episode, which is available on my website, which is learnenglishwithnataliepodiacom, and also don't forget to subscribe if you enjoy the lesson.

Speaker 1: 1:14

Now, last week, I started reading a novel to you, a short story to help with your English reading and understanding. Don't worry, we're still going to continue with that novel. However, each week I plan to release two episodes. One will be a grammar-based episode or an English-speaking episode, and the other we will continue with the novel. So make sure you look out for that. In a couple of days Now, before we get started started, I want to reassure you. I often hear English language learners complain that they are worried about their pronunciation. I really don't want you to worry about this. This will come with time and practice. The chances are that if you are speaking to somebody who speaks English and you are speaking at a good level, despite your accent or pronunciation, they will be able to understand you perfectly well. So don't put too much pressure on yourself. Keep learning, keep practicing, just as you are doing right now, and it will improve over time.

Speaker 1: 2:23

So let's get into today's small talk activities. The first phrase I want to introduce you to, and it's probably one that you already know, is how's it going? A native person might say how's it going? How's it going? Dropping that last g on going How's it going? Dropping that last G on going How's it going? This is a casual way of asking somebody how they are. So instead of saying how are you, which is perfectly acceptable, you might say how's it going. It's a little less formal. So let's do a my turn, your turn, my turn. How's it going, your turn Wonderful. In context, you might say oh hi, mark, how's it going? Can you say that? Excellent. Let's move on to the next phrase. Now there are different ways of saying this phrase. I'm going to introduce you to this one Lovely weather that we're having, or lovely weather we're having.

Speaker 1: 3:28

Talking about the weather is classic small talk. It's something that everybody can talk about because we're all experiencing the same weather. Repeat after me Lovely weather we're having. Your turn. You might change this and say oh, it's nice today, isn't it? It's nice today, isn't it? Or for less sunny days, it looks like it's going to rain today. It looks like it's going to rain today. Whatever phrase you choose, talking about the weather is a very common small talk tactic.

Speaker 1: 4:01

The next phrase we're going to look at is what brings you here? What brings you here? This is perfect, for if you bump into somebody by accident, spontaneously, you don't expect to see them. Or if you're at a party or an event, what brings you here? It's asking that person in a friendly way why are they here? Maybe who invited them? Because in a small talk situation you wouldn't turn around and say who invited you. It's what brings you here. Why are you here? So let's do a my turn your turn. What brings you here? Your turn, brilliant. You might address somebody before you say this sentence Hi Sam, what brings you here, brilliant? Can you try it? My turn again. Hi Sam, what brings you here? Your turn, excellent. Okay, let's take a quick break.

Speaker 1: 4:58

While you go and grab yourself a glass of water or a coffee, I want to talk about what's been going on in my book club recently. We recently had our first live stream where we discussed the new book that we have started reading, and what a great success it was. I genuinely love bringing people together from all over the globe to discuss books. I'm a reading fanatic. If this is something that sounds like your cup of tea, then why don't you join us? You can find all the information for my Patreon available in the show notes, and there's a seven day free trial, so if it doesn't work out, you can cancel any time. We've just started reading a new book, so there's definitely a chance for you to catch up, don't worry, and when you do so, you can join my discord community of English language learners, where you can talk to myself and other learners just like you. Check out the information in the show notes.

Speaker 1: 5:57

Now let's get back to the lesson. The next phrase I'm going to teach you is slightly different for American English and British English, but if you forget which one to use in which context, don't, it will still make sense to the listener. So if you were using American English, you might say did you catch the game last night? Did you catch the game last night? Did you catch the game last night? This is great for starting a conversation about sporting events, because many people enjoy watching sports. You are trying to establish a common ground and find a common interest with the person you're speaking to. In British English, you would usually say did you watch the match last night? Because in England a lot of people like to watch football and we would call that a football match. So we would say did you watch the match last night? Of course, in the UK people like all different types of sports, so you could still use the did you catch the game last night? Because that could refer to a rugby match, for example. This isn't a very strict rule. People will still understand what you're asking. Okay, let's try this. My turn. Did you catch the game last night? Your turn, excellent. Now in response, a person might say, yes, it was a good game, wasn't it? Yes, it was a good game, wasn't it? Yes, it was a good game, wasn't it? Or they might say, no, I was busy, I didn't manage to watch it. Was it a good game? And then you would continue the conversation. Make sure you only ask this if you actually watched the game or the match last night.

Speaker 1: 7:50

My final small talk tip for today is about paying compliments. Everybody loves to receive a compliment, but you need to make sure it's really appropriate. So here we go. I love your bag. Where did you get it from? Now you can replace the word bag with a different item. I love your sunglasses. Where did you get them from?

Speaker 1: 8:14

Compliments are a great icebreaker and you're automatically putting your conversation partner at ease. I would recommend that you compliment something that they are wearing or an accessory they have. We don't want to go into their physical features because that may be offensive to some people, depending on who you're talking to and how it comes across. So play it safe with accessories or clothing. For example, I love your jacket. Where did you get it from? Let's do a. My turn, your turn. I love your jacket. Where did you get it from? Your turn Wonderful.

Speaker 1: 9:00

Okay, let's get into our role play exercise. We're going to pretend that we're in a coffee shop and we just bumped into each other. Now I'm going to reverse this a little bit. I've taught you some phrases to start conversations, but I want you to now practice how you would respond. Don't worry, I'm going to help you along the way. So we're in the coffee shop and I say hi, how's it going? How would you respond? How would you respond Excellent. You might say something like great thanks. How are you Always return the question?

Speaker 1: 9:37

The next small talk starter I will say to you in this coffee shop conversation is lovely weather we're having, isn't it Lovely weather we're having, isn't it? How would you respond to that? Brilliant? You might just say, yes, it's gorgeous out there today. Or you might want to elaborate further and say, yes, it's really nice. I might go to the beach later and use a sentence that is linked to that nice weather.

Speaker 1: 10:13

Next, in our coffee shop conversation, I'm going to say what brings you here? What brings you here? Now, remember, this means what is the purpose of you being here? Why are you here? What brings you here? How would you respond? You respond Excellent. You might say, oh, I've just finished a meeting and was passing by. I hear the coffee here is great.

Speaker 1: 10:44

There are many different appropriate responses. Okay, this week's activity I want you to practice the role play activity that we just did several times so that your brain gets used to creating responses to those small talk questions. If you're feeling brave enough, you might go out there in the real world and practice those conversations yourself using those conversation starters. Don't forget, you can find me on TikTok and YouTube at Learn English with Natalie, and all the information for my social channels and any free resources you want to download are available on my website, which is learnenglishwithnataliepodia com, that's, learn english with natalie dot podia, p-o-d-i-a dot com. Thank you so much for joining me today. I hope you had a wonderful lesson and I'll see you next time. Bye, thank you.