5 Easy Tips for Making Small Talk in English

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Small talk is one of the most common types of conversation you’ll have in English. It can happen almost anywhere, whether you’re about to start a meeting at work or order coffee in a cafe.

It’s also the type of conversation you have when meeting someone for the first time. This means it's an important skill for both your personal and professional life.

But for many English language learners, small talk can be difficult! So today, we’ll share five tips for improving this basic conversation skill.

Tip #1: Prepare Answers to Common Questions

Two women making small talk while sitting outdoors

In small talk, there are some questions that you'll probably get asked a lot, such as:

Where are you from?
What do you do for a living?
How was your weekend?

Instead of thinking of an answer each time you’re asked these questions, prepare some answers in advance!

To do this, first think of the common topics people often ask about. Here are some examples:

Your family ("Do you have any brothers or sisters?" or “How’s your family?”)
Your job ("What do you do for a living?" or “How’s your job going?”)
Your current location ("Have you been here before?" or “How long have you lived here?”)
Your hobbies ("What do you do for fun?" or “What games are you playing these days?”)
Activities you may be doing (“How’s your book club going?”)

When you know what questions to expect, you'll be better prepared to answer them! Preparing in advance will also let you look up the words and phrases you need to answer these questions clearly.

Tip #2: Add Details

In English conversations, it’s a good idea to add a little detail when you answer a question. For example, if you’re a flight attendant, a fun fact you can share is that you get free flights.

I’m a flight attendant, which means I get to travel all over the world for free!

Details like this can make conversations more interesting. They’ll also give your conversation partner new ideas about what questions to ask next.

But remember to keep your responses short; usually two or three sentences is enough. People often enjoy conversations more if they get lots of chances to speak!

Check out our article How to Answer 'How Are You?' Like a Native English Speaker for more examples of how to do this.

Tip #3: 'Cushion' Your Questions

A common tip for making small talk is to ask a lot of questions. It's a good idea, but it must be done correctly.

If ask too many questions without anything in between, you may quickly run out of questions to ask. Also, you might make your conversation partner feel a bit uncomfortable.

So instead, it's better to “cushion” your questions with statements. For example, in the dialogue below, the second speaker says “What a lovely name!” to cushion their next question, “Where are you from?”

My name is Arisa.

What a lovely name! Where are you from, Arisa?

Here’s another dialogue. Can you find the cushion?

I’ve been a vegetarian for five years.

Wow, that’s a long time! Why did you choose to become a vegetarian?

Statements like “What a lovely name!” and “That’s a long time!” help show that the speaker is interested in their conversation partner’s responses. This helps build a good connection and makes the conversation flow more naturally.

Tip #4: Start by Agreeing

Two young professionals making small talk in an office break room

English speakers often start conversations with simple yes-no questions. Look at some questions people might ask in the following situations:

Waiting at a bus stop: “It’s cold today, isn’t it?”
Before a meeting: “These meetings always start late, don't they?”
At a party: “The drinks are pretty good, don’t you think?”

Because these questions are asked as conversation starters, it’s normal to agree in response. It’s even better if you add a little detail when you do it! For example:

Cold, isn't it?

Yeah, it's freezing!

So, is it possible to disagree and still keep the conversation flowing?

Yes! However, remember to:

Be friendly - Smile and speak in a friendly tone of voice. Otherwise, the other person may think you’re not interested in speaking to them.
Give a short reason - Try to explain why you disagree in an interesting way. For example, in response to “Cold, isn’t it?” you can say, “Actually, this is warm where I’m from!”

Tip #5: Ask Open-Ended Questions

Yes-no questions are useful when small talk begins, but if you want the conversation to continue, it's better to ask a different type.

For example, look at these two questions:

Do you like rock music?
What kind of music do you like?

For the first question, the other person can reply with a simple "yes" or "no." But the second question is open-ended — it can be answered in many different ways.

Open-ended questions encourage people to talk in more detail. And when you get more detail, you have more information you can talk about, which helps keep the conversation going.

Ready to try it?

If you don’t feel comfortable making small talk yet, get some practice!

Book a lesson with an Engoo tutor and try using some of the strategies we've introduced in this article. There are thousands of Engoo tutors around the world who are ready to chat with you, and each lesson is only 25 minutes. Give it a try!