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MakingSmallTalk

MakingSmallTalk

Theabilitytomake'smalltalk',manyEnglishstudentsaremore

interestedinmakingeffectivesmalltalkthanknowingcorrectgrammarstructures-andrightly

so!Smalltalkgetsfriendshipsstartedand'breakstheice'beforeimportantbusinessmeetings

andotherevents.

Whatissmalltalk?

Smalltalkispleasantconversationaboutcommoninterests.

HowtoImproveSmallTalkSkills

Nowthatweunderstandtheproblem,esome

,makingeffectivesmalltalkmeanslotsofpractice,but

keepingthetipsinmindshouldimproveoverallconversationalskills.

Dosomerearch

SpendtimeontheInternet,readingmagazines,orwatchingTVspecialsaboutthetypeof

mple:Ifyouaretakingaclasswithstudentsfromother

countries,llappreciate

yourinterestandyourconversationswillbemuchmoreinteresting.

Stayawayfromreligion/strongpoliticalbeliefs

Whileyoumaybelieveinsomethingverystrongly,beginningconversationsandmakingsmall

tlight,

don'ttrytoconvincetheotherpersonthatyouhavethe'correct'informationaboutahigher

being,politicalsystemorotherbeliefsystem.

UtheInternettogainspecificvocabulary

aveabusinessmeeting,orare

meetingpeoplewhoshareacommoninterest(abasketballteam,atourgroupinterestedin

art,etc.),allbusiness

andinterestgroupshaveglossariesontheInternetexplainingthemostimportantjargon

relatedtotheirbusinessoractivity.

FormalGreetings:Arriving

Goodmorning/afternoon/evening.

Hello(name),howareyou?

GooddaySir/Madam(veryformal)

InformalGreetings:Arriving

Hi/Hello

Howareyou?

What'sup?(veryinformal)

Howareyoudoing?(veryinformal)

It'simportanttonotethatthequestion"Howareyou?"or"What'sup?"doesn'tnecessary

orespond,thephrasaregenerallyexpected:

Verywell,?(formal)

Fine/Great(informal)

FormalGreetings:Departing

Goodmorning/afternoon/evening.

Itwasapleasureeingyou.

Goodbye.

Note:After8p.m.-Goodnight.

InformalGreetings:Departing

Goodbye/Bye.

Seeyou(later).

Later(veryinformal

Askyourlfaboutyourculture

Taketimetomakealistofcommonintereststhatarediscusdwhenmakingsmalltalkin

dothisinyourownlanguage,butchecktomakesurethatyou

havetheEnglishvocabularytomakesmalltalkaboutthosubjects.

Findcommoninterests

Onceyouhaveasubjectthatinterestsbothofyou,keeptoit!Youcandothisinanumberof

ways:talkingabouttravel,talkingabouttheschoolorfriendyouhaveincommon,talking

aboutthedifferencesbetweenyourcultureandthenewculture(justbecarefultomake

comparisonsandnotjudgments,i.e.,Thefoodinourcountryisbetterthanthefoodherein

England").

Listen

'tgetsoworriedaboutbeingabletocommunicatethatyoudon't

mightbenervous,butlettingothersstatetheiropinionswillimprovethequalityofthe

discussion-andgiveyoutimetothinkofananswer!

avedifficultiesspeakingaboutanyofthe

topics,trytoimproveyourvocabularybyusingtheresourcesavailabletoyou(Internet,

magazines,teachersatschool,etc.)

Sports-currentmatchesorgames,favoriteteams,etc.

Hobbies

Weather-boring,butcangettheballrolling!

Family-generalquestions,notquestionsaboutprivatematters

Media-films,books,magazines,etc.

Holidays-where,when,howmuch!

Hometown-wheredoyoucomefrom,howisitdifferent/similartothistown

Job-onceagain,generalquestionsnottoospecific

Latestfashionandtrends

Celebrities-anygossipyoumayhave!

HotQuestionstostartasmalltalk

FiveBasicFacts

esimplequestionswithsimple

answersandprovideinformationsoyoucanaskmorequestions.

Whatisyourname?

Wheredoyoulive?

Whatdoyoudo?

Areyoumarried?

Whereareyoufrom?

Morequestionsfor...

Thequestionshelptocontinuetheconversationafteryourfirstquestion.

"Whatisyourname?"

It'reyoufrom?

That'ine/French/Indian,etc.?

"Wheredoyoulive?"

Howlonghaveyoulivedthere?

Doyoulikethatneighborhood?

Doyouliveinanapartmentorhou?

"Whatdoyoudo?"

Whichcompanydoyouworkfor?

Howlonghaveyouhadthatjob?

Doyoulikeyourjob?

What'sthebest/worstthingaboutyourjob?

Whatdoyoulikebest/leastaboutyourjob?

"Whereareyoufrom?"

Whereis....?

Howlongdidyoulivethere?

WhatisXYZlike?

Doyoulikelivinghere?

Hobbies/FreeTime

Thequestionswillhelpyoucontinueconversationsandfindoutmoreaboutpeople'slikes

anddislikes.

Whatdoyoulikedoinginyourfreetime?

Canyouplaytennis/golf/soccer/etc.?

Whatkindoffilms/food/vacationsdoyouenjoy?

Whatdoyoudoonweekends/Saturdays?

Morequestionsfor...

Thequestionswillhelpyouaskformoredetail.

"Whatdoyoulikedoinginyourfreetime?"

Howoftendoyou(listentomusic,eatoutinrestaurants,etc.)?

Wheredoyou(listentomusic,eatoutinrestaurants,etc.)inthistown?

Whydoyoulike(listeningtomusic,eatingoutinrestaurants,etc.)somuch?

"Canyouplaytennis/golf/soccer/etc.?"

Doyouenjoyplayingtennis/golf/soccer/etc.?

Howlonghaveyouplayedtennis/golf/soccer/etc.?

Whodoyouplaytennis/golf/soccer/?

"Whatkindoffilms/food/vacationsdoyouenjoy?"

What'sthebestplacetoe/eat/goonvacations?

What'sthebesttypeoffilm/food/vacation,opinion?

Howoftendoyouwatchfilms/eatout/goonvacation?

"Whatdoyoudoonweekends/Saturdays?"

Wheredoyougoto...?

Couldyourecommendagoodplaceto(goshopping/takemychildrenswimming/etc.)?

Howlonghaveyoudonethat?

Hereisalistoftopicsthatprobablyaren',ifyouaremeeting

memberthat'smalltalk'isgenerally

discussionwithpeopleyoudon'tknowverywell.

Salary-howmuchdoyoumake?-That'snoneofyourbusiness!

Politics-waittoyougettoknowthepersonbetter

Intimaterelationships-onlyforyouandyourpartner-ormaybeyourbestfriend

Religion-toleranceisthekey!

Death-weneedtofaceit,butnotthefirsttimewemeetsomeonenew

Financial-relatedtosalaryabove,mostpeopleprefertokeepfinancial

informationtothemlves

Sales-Don'ttrytollsomethingtosomeoneyouhavejustmet.

ThisvideowithEllenQuish,anESLspecialistfromtheAdultLearningCenteratLaGuardia

CommunityCollegeinNewYorkCity,

videohighlightsthemostcommonEnglishintroductionvocabularyandphras.