How to Make Small Talk in English - English Conversation Lesson

In this lesson, you can learn how to make small talk in English.
You’ll learn how small talk can help you to connect with others around you, and you’ll see examples of common small talk conversation topics in dialogues.
You’ll also see useful questions and tips you can use to make small talk in English. Do you have a similar approach to small talk, or are there differences? Let us know your thoughts in the comments, and share your ideas with English learners from all over the world!
Get more tips on small talk and English conversation in general with one of our teachers! bit.ly/ooe-teac...
See the full version of this lesson on our website: www.oxfordonli....
Contents:
1. What is Small Talk? 0:49
2. Small talk Topics: Where are you from? 3:49
3. Small Talk Topics: Free Time and Hobbies 6:19
4. Small Talk Topics: Family and Kids 8:45
5. Finding Things in Common 12:14
This lesson will help you:
- Understand what small talk is and why people use small talk in English.
- Get ideas of different topics you can use when you make small talk in English.
- Learn useful phrases to make small talk about where you are from.
- Find helpful vocabulary to make small talk about free time and hobbies when you make small talk.
- Learn how to discuss your family and kids when you make small talk.
- See examples of how you can talk about things you have in common when you make small talk in English.
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See more free English lessons like this on our website: www.oxfordonli....

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Take the quiz after you watch to check your understanding! www.oxfordonlineenglish.com/how-to-make-small-talk

[@youcefouldbeziou818]

Oxford Online English

[@nabilarenata2409]

Excuse me, can you put indonesia in subtitle?

[@janheyj7036]

Thanks a lot, both of you and OOE for this amazing lesson!

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

You're welcome, Jan! Thanks for watching!

[@Demiduivenvoorden]

love this one! im from holland. The most popular smal talk subject is ... the weather HAHA

[@nouralqutati5152]

It’s really a very interesting video which learned me important knowledge that will help me communicate well with others. I’m thankful for you ❤️

[@theskeleton2577]

This lesson is very useful for bigners to speak English .Thanks to Lori and oli this name is so strange in India.Thanks to both of u.

[@arshadullahkhan2281]

Informative lesson

[@leylamacalin7414]

Teacher Oli the besta i understand well thanks

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Glad you understood the lesson, Leyla!

[@longnguyen9638]

Hello Oli and Lori! Lesson is very useful for daily conversation and thanks you two. I just wonder how often you two go to the gym a week?

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Thanks for watching, Long!

[@jenniferlimbaro7272]

Great! I've learned new phrases, very helpful. Thanks a lot 😊

[@myway6507]

hi oli thanks a lot please please. Make every days 👍👍👍🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@samymadrid2408]

Oli is men or woman??

[@honeykhan2114]

@@samymadrid2408 oli is man......not women......okay

[@myway6507]

@@samymadrid2408 oli is man

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Thanks for watching, Abdu!

[@muneerkaraparambil5769]

Thanks , a lesson about linking vebs will be very useful for many English learners. And even more so , if you could explain changes in meaning, when they are used. Became old Grew old Got angry Grew angry Etc. Confusing

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Hi Muneer, thanks for watching! We have lessons on collocations: www.oxfordonlineenglish.com/collocations-in-english and phrasal verbs: www.oxfordonlineenglish.com/phrasal-verbs which might help you! We will also have some lessons in the future giving more detail on these items also. Hope this is useful for you!

[@darodewkeea5321]

Hello welcome my home you best english lesson thak you

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Thanks for watching!

[@trandong2233]

thanks

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

You're welcome, Tran!

[@orn_engeng1385]

Thank you so much!

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

You're welcome! Thanks for watching!

[@sincilienrenoir5869]

Wow i really like the class thanks a lot

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

So glad you enjoyed the lesson, Sincillien! Thanks for watching!

[@ahsanhabib00]

Thanks #Oli

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

You're welcome, Ahsan!

[@austinmonteiro4813]

This looks like an awkward conversation it should've been a little more friendly to look natural ..

[@georginajovanovic]

Small talk is there to be build trust and you're getting used to the sound of my voice.

[@darodewkeea5321]

Hello welcme my ricwet are you chalenjar not ricwest vocali thak you

[@GrantCareerCoaching]

Great lesson! This is all SO much more natural than "Hello sir, how are you, I'm fine, thank you and you?" 🙃🙃🙃

[@emyeman4575]

American English With Grant .. absolutely 👍🏻 😉

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

We agree!

[@DangQuangHuy]

This is the way how English teachers taught me at school. And I'm pretty sure this just was a typical day in English classes. xD

[@hauuong2169]

Well, I am from VietNam which is in Southest Asia. As we see each other (particularly “friends”or “acquaintances”) this question is commonly used in daily conversations: “ Have you eaten anything yet ?”. It sounds weird, I know. Here is the explanation for it: VietNam suffered a difficult period of time as the whole national economy got seriously destroyed in the past time after VietNam War . Therefore, people always asked each other that question. Because during that time, it was so hard to find anything to put in mouth.

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Thanks for sharing, Hau! Yes, this seems to be common in a few languages!

[@camlainguyen3545]

I think you can ask that kind of question, but I heard people usually change the form, like "Have you had lunch?, dinner?...", so the question is weird just because it is translated word by word from Vietnamese :)

[@maiageeb4075]

Thank you very much for your efforts .in my country when you met some one for the first time you ask him from his home town and try to get some thing in common

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Nice, thank you for watching and sharing!

[@crazyme.4953]

Oh Oli is your accent very very Nice keep it going.

[@matiyasfekadu5356]

Good

[@aminmangal4512]

Please make videos about conservation to the Reception to making Appointment GP. Another one for oder food, coffee and Ice cream. Brilliant teaching⛤⛥⛦⛧⛧ Very helpful

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Hi Armin, thanks for watching! You can find a few of these lessons on our website: www.oxfordonlineenglish.com/talk-about-food, www.oxfordonlineenglish.com/order-coffee-english.

[@helena3990]

I loves they are Talking each Other,, Pretty Good n their Voices are Clearly, Thanks soo much ❤️🙏🙏🙏

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Glad you enjoyed the lesson!

[@anantharamulu1089]

You speak good. I enjoyed it communicative.

[@4-aindrilaghosh780]

I really learned spoken english.i listen to ur talking .is very nice conversation.i told somthing.but my problem is new words uses

[@26raflyrizaldi44]

Gua gak ngerti sama sekali apa yang dibicarakan mereka berdua

[@ougawougajr.4983]

You haven't heard of it,Dave. I worked there.

[@trandong2233]

I can learn how to make small in english

[@madina-uk2hb]

كم أفرح عندما أراك تعمل فيديوهات ،لكن أريد أن تعمل فيديوهات خاصة بك وحدك ،وأريد أن يشاركك أحد في الفيديو... استمر...

[@rrigobertourbina769]

?

[@madina-uk2hb]

do you understand arabik language or no, if you don't andrsand, so I will speak with you by english language Oli, I want to work vidios ,because I enjoy for watch your videos, but work video by your self

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Thanks for watching, Madi na! Oli has many other lessons on our website as well: www.oxfordonlineenglish.com/free-english-lessons.

[@motherlove5578]

Both of you are amazing ❤️😍

[@biplobdutta2781]

Fascinating presentation,Thank mr oli

[@phuongvo6682]

Great small talk! I learned this very well. It’s helpful. Thank you!

[@darodewkeea5321]

Hello good morning you english video top you not good infromation thak you

[@amnaraza3369]

All are good teachers but i like oil 's lessons

[@maxameddeeqaxmed6530]

Thanks a lot keep going

[@amarilyscooper9770]

Hi thanks, your videos are very useful. Congratuletions.

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Thanks for watching the lesson, Amarilys!

[@oneswetipo2783]

Spik indonesia ingri

[@amnaraza3369]

Your exent is very good

[@davidfromcroa]

How old are you. Oli

[@sunnykumari4798]

Hii

[@soksy]

Really good for small talk for me to learn English. 🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻 🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻 🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

We're glad you enjoyed it!

[@amalinadofficialchannel4680]

Woow

[@AropMayol]

Nice lesson

[@onilweerathunga5477]

That is really. I like verymuch.

[@malilori6344]

Omg I am from Romania as well! (Sunt din Constanța, si pot sa spun ca videoul asta m-a ajutat foarte mult!)

[@enveryagc6580]

very useful lesson.thank you.

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

So glad you found the lesson useful, Enver!

[@ikaimelda7906]

This is very useful. And I'll start it with ; where are you come from?

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Good, Ika! One tip: 'Where do you come from?' or 'Where are you from?' not, 'Where are you come from?'.

[@georginajovanovic]

Someone should have told George floyd the police won't small talk to him because they were 'not in his social level'. That's why that happened... lol

[@leandroguerreiro1867]

When he is talking to her, he seems to be a blind man stares at nothing.

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Hi Leandro, thanks for watching our lesson and sharing your comment! It's important to remember that each teacher is filming their part of your lesson from different parts of the world! They are not even in the same room! Therefore, when editing the video, it can be difficult to put each person's line of sight directly lined up to the other.

[@leandroguerreiro1867]

​@@Oxfordonlineenglish1 , thanks for the reply! Okay, don't worry, I was just kidding. Good Job!

[@olivertownsend9094]

Thanks friends Great idea to practice my english

[@ИванСапронов-з8ь]

Thanks a lot!

[@aliensamurai1010]

Thanks for sharing this great video

[@hoatran1998]

Why don't both of you face to face?

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Hi there. Thanks for watching our lesson and sharing your comment. It's important to remember that each teacher is filming their part of your lesson from different parts of the world! They are not even in the same room! Therefore, when editing the video, it can be difficult to put one person's line of sight directly lined up to the other. Hope you enjoyed the lesson.

[@adammohammed2617]

Well done

[@darodewkeea5321]

Hello fantatic you english video thak you

[@----hajabarala8217]

Great lesson

[@attaullahkhan5552]

helpful

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Thanks for watching, Atta!

[@vanmovanmo5884]

Excellent channel useful video

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

So glad you enjoy the lessons!

[@mansurmohdtonga602]

I hope next video may come with subtitle.

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Thanks for watching, Mansur. All of our lessons have at least English subtitles. You can turn them on if you click on CC on your video player!

[@mansurmohdtonga602]

@@Oxfordonlineenglish1 thank for the info.

[@Toto8opus]

Step one: Start looking at your small talk partner as if you were blind...

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Hi Alphonse, thanks for watching our lesson and sharing your comment! It's important to remember that each teacher is filming their part of your lesson from different parts of the world! They are not even in the same room! Therefore, when editing the video, it can be difficult to put each person's line of sight directly lined up to the other. Glad you enjoyed the lesson!

[@ཉིམའིལུངབུ]

Thanks for your sharing

[@nursikzhanadilov1511]

Thanks for video !!!

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

You're welcome, Nursik!

[@pennarroch5534]

Useful.thank you

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

You're welcome! Thanks for watching!

[@yahyadanso553]

Thanks a lot

[@catspetportugueclasseferna1430]

Good classe

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Thank you!

[@albertoalbertoni9529]

Thanks!

[@emylalanga8909]

Im just wondering he replied.. "I'm gonna be boring inssread of.."Im gonna be bored?!

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Good question, Emyla. 'I'm going to be boring' represents the idea that his actions (catching up on housework) will be boring. It's not his feeling (bored), but his actions which will be boring. Hopefully that helps!

[@emylalanga8909]

@@Oxfordonlineenglish1 so basically boring is like a future tense which is still to happen or felt by the speaker right?

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

@@emylalanga8909 'Boring' is an adjective to describe an activity. For example: 'She thought the movie was boring'. 'Bored' is also an adjective, but to describe a feeling: 'They were all very bored during the movie'.

[@aprendendoalemao4383]

hello. nice video.

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Thank you for the comment!

[@rususworld1459]

I need English spoken more videos

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Thanks for watching, Nusrath! We have many spoken English lessons! You can find them here: www.oxfordonlineenglish.com/free-spoken-english-lessons.

[@xanhhyvong5182]

Thanks for your video.❤ Lesson really good for me.

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Great, Xanh! Thanks for watching!

[@venkateswaradhanumjayaadda8589]

Tqqqqqq

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Thanks for watching, Venkateswara!

[@mursaldalmar3936]

Thankz I from Somalia

[@sanuthampi2677]

M from lndia, anyone interest pls connect

[@hassanherro]

We re same bro

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Hi Mursal, thank you for watching the lesson!

[@muhammadhamzawarraich1630]

Sir Oli, Thanks so much your lecture helpful for English learning. I want to conversation in English on daily base.If any native English speaker or other who want to conversation plz contact me. Dear Sir plz help me

[@ayalashin9155]

I have the same problem as I don't have people to speak with them at all. I feel sad because of that. I hope I could be surrounded by Americans to practice speaking.

[@muhammadhamzawarraich1630]

@@ayalashin9155 If u interest i talk on daily base

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Thanks for watching, Muhammad! We do have native English teachers who offer conversation lessons if that is something you are interested in. You can find more information on our website: www.oxfordonlineenglish.com/about-our-online-english-teachers.

[@shaistabaig2684]

Great oli your every video hasbeen useful, I have much more learnt there thanks

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

That's great! Thanks for watching!

[@engmohamedosman4915]

Thnk you my teachers for you give the kindly lessons

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Thanks for watching, Mohamed!

[@Bulldozerwala]

Oli is the best teacher.

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Thank you for the kind comment, Mhk!

[@Bulldozerwala]

@@Oxfordonlineenglish1 welcome

[@luismanuelsanchezsantes7374]

Thanks from Mexico!!!

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

You're welcome, Luis!

[@hungmaiding537]

Excellent course of teaching English

[@thomassibi2278]

Excellent

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Thank you, Thomas!

[@sivtrasokhim5346]

is there anyone want to make friends and learn together ?

[@NhungTran-fx1de]

I want too

[@lytahin5569]

Thank you for new uploads 🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Thank you for watching, Lyta!

[@sendatamie8574]

I lave this English channel. thanks as always !

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Thank you for the support, Sena!

[@alexanderpadalka5708]

🗽

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Thanks for watching!

[@onigonzalez5054]

Thanks

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

You're welcome, Oni!

[@darodewkeea5321]

Hello my famiy five sistar four brarjar my parsonal no maried thak yoy

[@vignesht4077]

Useful video

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

So glad you found it useful, Vivekananthan!

[@vignesht4077]

In free time how to improve our English knowledge..

[@-lopNguyenDuyKhoa]

I like this english

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Great, Phuong! Thanks for watching!

[@ismaelxfactor]

You are Wonderful.

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Thank you, Ismail!

[@najatlolo6701]

👍👍👍

[@Oxfordonlineenglish1]

Thanks, Najat!