Learn EnglishSpoken English

Small Talk; Day: 78

Many people believe small talk is very boring and not personable. Although that is true, there are many places where small talk is very important. In the western culture, strangers talk to other strangers frequently. On the other hand, small talk is not so common in the eastern culture. Because strangers are friendly to one another in the western culture, small talk is very important to master in regards to learning English. One other place small talk is important is in an interview. That is why this session will be important to learn.

āĻ…āĻ¨ā§‡āĻ• āĻ˛ā§‹āĻ• āĻŦāĻŋāĻļā§āĻŦāĻžāĻ¸ āĻ•āĻ°ā§‡ āĻ¯ā§‡ āĻ›ā§‹āĻŸ āĻ•āĻĨāĻžāĻŦāĻžāĻ°ā§āĻ¤āĻž āĻ–ā§āĻŦ āĻŦāĻŋāĻ°āĻ•ā§āĻ¤āĻŋāĻ•āĻ° āĻāĻŦāĻ‚ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻ•ā§āĻ¤āĻŋāĻ¤ā§āĻŦāĻĒā§‚āĻ°ā§āĻŖ āĻ¨āĻ¯āĻŧāĨ¤ āĻ¯āĻĻāĻŋāĻ“ āĻāĻŸāĻž āĻ¸āĻ¤ā§āĻ¯, āĻāĻŽāĻ¨ āĻ…āĻ¨ā§‡āĻ• āĻœāĻžāĻ¯āĻŧāĻ—āĻž āĻ†āĻ›ā§‡ āĻ¯ā§‡āĻ–āĻžāĻ¨ā§‡ āĻ›ā§‹āĻŸ āĻ›ā§‹āĻŸ āĻ•āĻĨāĻž āĻŦāĻ˛āĻž āĻ–ā§āĻŦāĻ‡ āĻ—ā§āĻ°ā§āĻ¤ā§āĻŦāĻĒā§‚āĻ°ā§āĻŖāĨ¤ āĻĒāĻļā§āĻšāĻŋāĻŽāĻž āĻ¸āĻ‚āĻ¸ā§āĻ•ā§ƒāĻ¤āĻŋāĻ¤ā§‡, āĻ…āĻĒāĻ°āĻŋāĻšāĻŋāĻ¤ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻ•ā§āĻ¤āĻŋāĻ°āĻž āĻ…āĻ¨ā§āĻ¯āĻžāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ āĻ…āĻĒāĻ°āĻŋāĻšāĻŋāĻ¤āĻĻā§‡āĻ° āĻ¸āĻžāĻĨā§‡ āĻ˜āĻ¨ āĻ˜āĻ¨ āĻ•āĻĨāĻž āĻŦāĻ˛ā§‡āĨ¤ āĻ…āĻ¨ā§āĻ¯āĻĻāĻŋāĻ•ā§‡, āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻžāĻšā§āĻ¯ āĻ¸āĻ‚āĻ¸ā§āĻ•ā§ƒāĻ¤āĻŋāĻ¤ā§‡ āĻ›ā§‹āĻŸ āĻ›ā§‹āĻŸ āĻ•āĻĨāĻžāĻŦāĻžāĻ°ā§āĻ¤āĻž āĻ¤ā§‡āĻŽāĻ¨ āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻšāĻ˛āĻŋāĻ¤ āĻ¨āĻ¯āĻŧāĨ¤ āĻ¯ā§‡āĻšā§‡āĻ¤ā§ āĻĒāĻļā§āĻšāĻŋāĻŽāĻž āĻ¸āĻ‚āĻ¸ā§āĻ•ā§ƒāĻ¤āĻŋāĻ¤ā§‡ āĻ…āĻĒāĻ°āĻŋāĻšāĻŋāĻ¤ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻ•ā§āĻ¤āĻŋāĻ°āĻž āĻāĻ•ā§‡ āĻ…āĻĒāĻ°ā§‡āĻ° āĻ¸āĻžāĻĨā§‡ āĻŦāĻ¨ā§āĻ§ā§āĻ¤ā§āĻŦāĻĒā§‚āĻ°ā§āĻŖ, āĻ¤āĻžāĻ‡ āĻ‡āĻ‚āĻ°ā§‡āĻœāĻŋ āĻļā§‡āĻ–āĻžāĻ° āĻ•ā§āĻˇā§‡āĻ¤ā§āĻ°ā§‡ āĻ›ā§‹āĻŸ āĻ›ā§‹āĻŸ āĻ•āĻĨāĻž āĻŦāĻ˛āĻž āĻ–ā§āĻŦāĻ‡ āĻ—ā§āĻ°ā§āĻ¤ā§āĻŦāĻĒā§‚āĻ°ā§āĻŖāĨ¤ āĻ…āĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ āĻāĻ•āĻŸāĻŋ āĻœāĻžāĻ¯āĻŧāĻ—āĻžāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻ›ā§‹āĻŸ āĻ•āĻĨāĻž āĻŦāĻ˛āĻž āĻ—ā§āĻ°ā§āĻ¤ā§āĻŦāĻĒā§‚āĻ°ā§āĻŖ āĻāĻ•āĻŸāĻŋ āĻ¸āĻžāĻ•ā§āĻˇāĻžā§ŽāĻ•āĻžāĻ°ā§‡āĨ¤ āĻ¸ā§‡āĻœāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ āĻāĻ‡ āĻ…āĻ§āĻŋāĻŦā§‡āĻļāĻ¨ āĻļāĻŋāĻ–āĻ¤ā§‡ āĻ—ā§āĻ°ā§āĻ¤ā§āĻŦāĻĒā§‚āĻ°ā§āĻŖ āĻšāĻŦā§‡āĨ¤

The best way to learn small talk is to provide many examples. So this lesson will be taught using an example format.

āĻ›ā§‹āĻŸ āĻ›ā§‹āĻŸ āĻ•āĻĨāĻž āĻļā§‡āĻ–āĻžāĻ° āĻ¸āĻ°ā§āĻŦā§‹āĻ¤ā§āĻ¤āĻŽ āĻ‰āĻĒāĻžāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻšāĻ˛ āĻ…āĻ¨ā§‡āĻ• āĻ‰āĻĻāĻžāĻšāĻ°āĻŖ āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻĻāĻžāĻ¨ āĻ•āĻ°āĻžāĨ¤ āĻ¸ā§āĻ¤āĻ°āĻžāĻ‚ āĻāĻ‡ āĻĒāĻžāĻ āĻŸāĻŋ āĻāĻ•āĻŸāĻŋ āĻ‰āĻĻāĻžāĻšāĻ°āĻŖ āĻŦāĻŋāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯āĻžāĻ¸ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻŦāĻšāĻžāĻ° āĻ•āĻ°ā§‡ āĻļā§‡āĻ–āĻžāĻ¨ā§‹ āĻšāĻŦā§‡āĨ¤

Small talk involves many different topics. We will have several sessions on small talk once we have covered other subjects such as sports, jobs, school, etc. But for now, we will go through the basics of small talk conversation. To initiate small talk, we can use what we have learned from our previous several sessions:

āĻ›ā§‹āĻŸ āĻ†āĻ˛āĻžāĻĒ āĻ…āĻ¨ā§‡āĻ• āĻŦāĻŋāĻ­āĻŋāĻ¨ā§āĻ¨ āĻŦāĻŋāĻˇāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻœāĻĄāĻŧāĻŋāĻ¤. āĻ†āĻŽāĻ°āĻž āĻ–ā§‡āĻ˛āĻžāĻ§ā§āĻ˛āĻž, āĻšāĻžāĻ•āĻ°āĻŋ, āĻ¸ā§āĻ•ā§āĻ˛ āĻ‡āĻ¤ā§āĻ¯āĻžāĻĻāĻŋāĻ° āĻŽāĻ¤ā§‹ āĻ…āĻ¨ā§āĻ¯āĻžāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ āĻŦāĻŋāĻˇāĻ¯āĻŧāĻ—ā§āĻ˛āĻŋ āĻ•āĻ­āĻžāĻ° āĻ•āĻ°āĻžāĻ° āĻĒāĻ°ā§‡ āĻ›ā§‹āĻŸ āĻ›ā§‹āĻŸ āĻ†āĻ˛ā§‹āĻšāĻ¨āĻžāĻ° āĻ‰āĻĒāĻ° āĻ†āĻŽāĻžāĻĻā§‡āĻ° āĻŦā§‡āĻļ āĻ•āĻ¯āĻŧā§‡āĻ•āĻŸāĻŋ āĻ¸ā§‡āĻļāĻ¨ āĻĨāĻžāĻ•āĻŦā§‡ā§ˇ āĻ¤āĻŦā§‡ āĻ†āĻĒāĻžāĻ¤āĻ¤, āĻ†āĻŽāĻ°āĻž āĻ›ā§‹āĻŸ āĻ†āĻ˛āĻžāĻĒ āĻ•āĻĨā§‹āĻĒāĻ•āĻĨāĻ¨ā§‡āĻ° āĻŽā§‚āĻ˛ āĻŦāĻŋāĻˇāĻ¯āĻŧāĻ—ā§āĻ˛āĻŋāĻ° āĻŽāĻ§ā§āĻ¯ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§‡ āĻ¯āĻžāĻŦā§ˇ āĻ›ā§‹āĻŸ āĻ†āĻ˛ā§‹āĻšāĻ¨āĻž āĻļā§āĻ°ā§ āĻ•āĻ°āĻžāĻ° āĻœāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯, āĻ†āĻŽāĻ°āĻž āĻ†āĻŽāĻžāĻĻā§‡āĻ° āĻ†āĻ—ā§‡āĻ° āĻ•āĻ¯āĻŧā§‡āĻ•āĻŸāĻŋ āĻ¸ā§‡āĻļāĻ¨ āĻĨā§‡āĻ•ā§‡ āĻ¯āĻž āĻļāĻŋāĻ–ā§‡āĻ›āĻŋ āĻ¤āĻž āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻŦāĻšāĻžāĻ° āĻ•āĻ°āĻ¤ā§‡ āĻĒāĻžāĻ°āĻŋ:

One: “Hi Bill, how are you doing?”
Two: “I’m doing great. How are you doing?”
One: “I’m doing well myself.”

āĻāĻ•: “āĻšāĻžāĻ‡ āĻŦāĻŋāĻ˛, āĻ•ā§‡āĻŽāĻ¨ āĻ†āĻ›ā§‹?”

āĻĻā§āĻ‡: “āĻ†āĻŽāĻŋ āĻĻāĻžāĻ°ā§āĻŖ āĻ•āĻ°āĻ›āĻŋāĨ¤ āĻ•ā§‡āĻŽāĻ¨ āĻ†āĻ›ā§‹?”

āĻāĻ•: “āĻ†āĻŽāĻŋ āĻ¨āĻŋāĻœā§‡ āĻ­āĻžāĻ˛ā§‹ āĻ•āĻ°āĻ›āĻŋāĨ¤”

Wasn’t that simple? If you studied the material in prior sessions, this should be real easy for you. Now that we have initiated the small talk, it’s your responsibility to keep the conversation going. In order to do so, you can talk about anything that is not too personal. Let’s first ask what the other person has been doing lately.

āĻ¯ā§‡ āĻ¸āĻšāĻœ āĻ›āĻŋāĻ˛ āĻ¨āĻž? āĻ†āĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻ¯āĻĻāĻŋ āĻĒā§‚āĻ°ā§āĻŦāĻŦāĻ°ā§āĻ¤ā§€ āĻ¸ā§‡āĻļāĻ¨ā§‡ āĻ‰āĻĒāĻžāĻĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻŸāĻŋ āĻ…āĻ§ā§āĻ¯āĻ¯āĻŧāĻ¨ āĻ•āĻ°ā§‡āĻ¨ āĻ¤āĻŦā§‡ āĻāĻŸāĻŋ āĻ†āĻĒāĻ¨āĻžāĻ° āĻœāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ āĻŦāĻžāĻ¸ā§āĻ¤āĻŦāĻŋāĻ• āĻ¸āĻšāĻœ āĻšāĻ“āĻ¯āĻŧāĻž āĻ‰āĻšāĻŋāĻ¤āĨ¤ āĻāĻ–āĻ¨ āĻ¯ā§‡āĻšā§‡āĻ¤ā§ āĻ†āĻŽāĻ°āĻž āĻ›ā§‹āĻŸ āĻ†āĻ˛ā§‹āĻšāĻ¨āĻž āĻļā§āĻ°ā§ āĻ•āĻ°ā§‡āĻ›āĻŋ, āĻ•āĻĨā§‹āĻĒāĻ•āĻĨāĻ¨ āĻšāĻžāĻ˛āĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§‡ āĻ¯āĻžāĻ“āĻ¯āĻŧāĻžāĻ° āĻĻāĻžāĻ¯āĻŧāĻŋāĻ¤ā§āĻŦ āĻ†āĻĒāĻ¨āĻžāĻ°āĨ¤ āĻāĻŸāĻŋ āĻ•āĻ°āĻžāĻ° āĻœāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯, āĻ†āĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻāĻŽāĻ¨ āĻ•āĻŋāĻ›ā§ āĻ¸āĻŽā§āĻĒāĻ°ā§āĻ•ā§‡ āĻ•āĻĨāĻž āĻŦāĻ˛āĻ¤ā§‡ āĻĒāĻžāĻ°ā§‡āĻ¨ āĻ¯āĻž āĻ–ā§āĻŦ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻ•ā§āĻ¤āĻŋāĻ—āĻ¤ āĻ¨āĻ¯āĻŧāĨ¤ āĻ†āĻ¸ā§āĻ¨ āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻĨāĻŽā§‡ āĻœāĻŋāĻœā§āĻžāĻžāĻ¸āĻž āĻ•āĻ°āĻŋ āĻ¯ā§‡ āĻ…āĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻ•ā§āĻ¤āĻŋ āĻ‡āĻĻāĻžāĻ¨ā§€āĻ‚ āĻ•āĻŋ āĻ•āĻ°āĻ›ā§‡āĨ¤

One: “What have you been up to lately?”
Two: “Well, I just started to work at the bank so I’m pretty busy learning everything.”

āĻāĻ•: “āĻ†āĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻ‡āĻĻāĻžāĻ¨ā§€āĻ‚ āĻ•āĻŋ āĻ•āĻ°āĻ›ā§‡āĻ¨?”

āĻĻā§āĻ‡: “āĻ†āĻšā§āĻ›āĻž, āĻ†āĻŽāĻŋ āĻ¸āĻŦā§‡āĻŽāĻžāĻ¤ā§āĻ° āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻžāĻ™ā§āĻ•ā§‡ āĻ•āĻžāĻœ āĻļā§āĻ°ā§ āĻ•āĻ°ā§‡āĻ›āĻŋ āĻ¤āĻžāĻ‡ āĻ†āĻŽāĻŋ āĻ¸āĻŦāĻ•āĻŋāĻ›ā§ āĻļāĻŋāĻ–āĻ¤ā§‡ āĻŦā§‡āĻļ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻ¸ā§āĻ¤āĨ¤”

You can elaborate on what you have learned to keep the conversation alive. In this example, you are going to ask more questions about school and work.

āĻ•āĻĨā§‹āĻĒāĻ•āĻĨāĻ¨āĻ•ā§‡ āĻŦāĻžāĻāĻšāĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§‡ āĻ°āĻžāĻ–āĻ¤ā§‡ āĻ†āĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻ¯āĻž āĻļāĻŋāĻ–ā§‡āĻ›ā§‡āĻ¨ āĻ¤āĻž āĻŦāĻŋāĻ¸ā§āĻ¤āĻžāĻ°āĻŋāĻ¤āĻ­āĻžāĻŦā§‡ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻ¤ā§‡ āĻĒāĻžāĻ°ā§‡āĻ¨āĨ¤ āĻāĻ‡ āĻ‰āĻĻāĻžāĻšāĻ°āĻŖā§‡, āĻ†āĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻ¸ā§āĻ•ā§āĻ˛ āĻāĻŦāĻ‚ āĻ•āĻžāĻœ āĻ¸āĻŽā§āĻĒāĻ°ā§āĻ•ā§‡ āĻ†āĻ°āĻ“ āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻļā§āĻ¨ āĻœāĻŋāĻœā§āĻžāĻžāĻ¸āĻž āĻ•āĻ°āĻ¤ā§‡ āĻ¯āĻžāĻšā§āĻ›ā§‡āĻ¨āĨ¤

One: “Does that mean you already finished school? I thought you had 1 more semester left.”
Two: “I took summer courses, so I finished one semester early.”
One: “It’s great that you got a job. I’m really happy for you.”
Two: “Thanks.”

āĻāĻ•: “āĻ¤āĻžāĻ° āĻŽāĻžāĻ¨ā§‡ āĻ•āĻŋ āĻ†āĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻ‡āĻ¤āĻŋāĻŽāĻ§ā§āĻ¯ā§‡āĻ‡ āĻ¸ā§āĻ•ā§āĻ˛ āĻļā§‡āĻˇ āĻ•āĻ°ā§‡āĻ›ā§‡āĻ¨? āĻ†āĻŽāĻŋ āĻ­ā§‡āĻŦā§‡āĻ›āĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ āĻ†āĻĒāĻ¨āĻžāĻ° āĻ†āĻ°āĻ“ 1 āĻ¸ā§‡āĻŽāĻŋāĻ¸ā§āĻŸāĻžāĻ° āĻŦāĻžāĻ•āĻŋ āĻ†āĻ›ā§‡āĨ¤”

āĻĻā§āĻ‡: “āĻ†āĻŽāĻŋ āĻ—ā§āĻ°ā§€āĻˇā§āĻŽāĻ•āĻžāĻ˛ā§€āĻ¨ āĻ•ā§‹āĻ°ā§āĻ¸ āĻ¨āĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§‡āĻ›āĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽ, āĻ¤āĻžāĻ‡ āĻ†āĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻ•āĻŸāĻŋ āĻ¸ā§‡āĻŽāĻŋāĻ¸ā§āĻŸāĻžāĻ° āĻ¤āĻžāĻĄāĻŧāĻžāĻ¤āĻžāĻĄāĻŧāĻŋ āĻļā§‡āĻˇ āĻ•āĻ°ā§‡āĻ›āĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽāĨ¤”

āĻāĻ•: “āĻ†āĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻāĻ•āĻŸāĻŋ āĻšāĻžāĻ•āĻ°āĻŋ āĻĒā§‡āĻ¯āĻŧā§‡āĻ›ā§‡āĻ¨ āĻāĻŸāĻž āĻĻāĻžāĻ°ā§āĻŖāĨ¤ āĻ†āĻŽāĻŋ āĻ†āĻĒāĻ¨āĻžāĻ° āĻœāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ āĻ¸āĻ¤ā§āĻ¯āĻŋāĻ‡ āĻ–ā§āĻļāĻŋāĨ¤”

āĻĻā§āĻ‡: “āĻ§āĻ¨ā§āĻ¯āĻŦāĻžāĻĻāĨ¤”

As you can now tell, the conversation is getting old. You have a choice of ending the conversation, or changing the topic. Let’s practice ending the conversation.

āĻ†āĻĒāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻāĻ–āĻ¨ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻ¤ā§‡ āĻĒāĻžāĻ°ā§‡āĻ¨, āĻ•āĻĨā§‹āĻĒāĻ•āĻĨāĻ¨ āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻžāĻ¨ā§‹ āĻšāĻšā§āĻ›ā§‡āĨ¤ āĻ†āĻĒāĻ¨āĻžāĻ° āĻ•āĻžāĻ›ā§‡ āĻ•āĻĨā§‹āĻĒāĻ•āĻĨāĻ¨ āĻļā§‡āĻˇ āĻ•āĻ°āĻžāĻ° āĻŦāĻž āĻŦāĻŋāĻˇāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻĒāĻ°āĻŋāĻŦāĻ°ā§āĻ¤āĻ¨ āĻ•āĻ°āĻžāĻ° āĻāĻ•āĻŸāĻŋ āĻĒāĻ›āĻ¨ā§āĻĻ āĻ†āĻ›ā§‡āĨ¤ āĻ•āĻĨā§‹āĻĒāĻ•āĻĨāĻ¨ āĻļā§‡āĻˇ āĻ•āĻ°āĻžāĻ° āĻ…āĻ¨ā§āĻļā§€āĻ˛āĻ¨ āĻ•āĻ°āĻž āĻ¯āĻžāĻ•āĨ¤

One: “We should get together for lunch sometime.”
Two: “Yeah, that would be great.”
One: “I’ll call you sometime.”
Two: “Ok. I’ll see you later.”
One: “Alright. See ya.”

āĻāĻ•: “āĻ†āĻŽāĻžāĻĻā§‡āĻ° āĻŽāĻžāĻā§‡ āĻŽāĻžāĻā§‡ āĻĻā§āĻĒā§āĻ°ā§‡āĻ° āĻ–āĻžāĻŦāĻžāĻ°ā§‡āĻ° āĻœāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ āĻāĻ•āĻ¸āĻžāĻĨā§‡ āĻšāĻ“āĻ¯āĻŧāĻž āĻ‰āĻšāĻŋāĻ¤āĨ¤”

āĻĻā§āĻ‡: “āĻšā§āĻ¯āĻžāĻ, āĻāĻŸāĻž āĻ–ā§āĻŦ āĻ­āĻžāĻ˛ā§‹ āĻšāĻŦā§‡āĨ¤”

āĻāĻ•: “āĻ†āĻŽāĻŋ āĻ¤ā§‹āĻŽāĻžāĻ•ā§‡ āĻāĻ•āĻ¸āĻŽāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻ•āĻ˛ āĻ•āĻ°āĻŦāĨ¤”

āĻĻā§āĻ‡: “āĻ āĻŋāĻ• āĻ†āĻ›ā§‡āĨ¤ āĻĒāĻ°ā§‡ āĻĻā§‡āĻ–āĻž āĻšāĻŦā§‡āĨ¤”

āĻāĻ•āĻœāĻ¨: “āĻ āĻŋāĻ• āĻ†āĻ›ā§‡āĨ¤ āĻĻā§‡āĻ–āĻž āĻšāĻŦā§‡āĨ¤”