Using Small Talk Phrases in English
hi everybody my name is alicia welcome
back to top words in this lesson we’re
going to look at the top 20 useful
phrases for small talk
before we get started a quick note you
can find for free from the link below
this video in the youtube description a
bunch of pdf conversation and phrase
cheat sheets so if you want to work on
building your vocabulary or building
your everyday phrase knowledge you
should check these out i think this
survival phrases one is a pretty good
one for today’s lesson you can use these
expressions around your town throughout
the day and of course there are many
other topics to look at too so don’t
forget to check these out you can find
this from the link below the video on
youtube okay let’s get on with the video
you look great you look great
so you look great is a good way to greet
another person you should use this when
someone has had a new haircut or maybe
they have a new
shirt or something cool that they’re
wearing you want to express that someone
looks really nice you can say you look
great
next is
how are things
how are things
so how are things is like a more casual
way of saying how are you how are things
means like how are things in your life
things here means everything your job
your work whatever your school your
relationships your family how are things
in general okay let’s go to the next
phrase
what a coincidence
what a coincidence
what a coincidence is used to express
surprise so this word is spelled kind of
strangely it’s pronounced coincidence
coincidence it means that two things two
or more things
that you might not expect to happen at
the same time or in the same way
did happen so for example if you meet a
co-worker unexpectedly when you’re
shopping or you go to a coffee shop and
you see someone you know there you might
say wow what a coincidence so you didn’t
expect this thing to happen but here you
are so you can express your surprise
with this expression like what a
coincidence i ran into you at the coffee
shop who’d have thought
okay let’s get on to the next expression
that’s great
that’s great
okay so that’s great is good to know
it’s a super basic expression but you
can use it to respond to someone else’s
good news someone share something
positive happy good whatever it is just
say that’s great you can change grade
out for awesome or super or whatever it
is you feel like but that’s great is a
good basic phrase you can use just about
any time okay let’s get to the next
expression
next is
good for you
good for you
okay so good for you is used to express
like happiness for another person’s good
news so this is different from that’s
great because good for you is like
kind of noting that someone made an
improvement in their life someone did
something that was good for them
specifically so maybe someone started a
new exercise habit and it’s really
positive or maybe they ended a bad
relationship or they started a new job
at a good place in those cases where
someone has made some personal
improvement you can say good for you
good for you okay on to the next
expression
how are you
how are you
so how are you is a super basic greeting
you can use it with anybody in your life
really how are you is generally not
replied too seriously we usually just
say i’m good i’m fine i’m okay how are
you so you don’t really need to take
this expression too seriously but just
say how are you to show you’re thinking
of the other person okay on to the next
expression
next is
is everything going fine
is everything going fine
so this expression and one that i
personally would use i would probably
say is everything going okay
is used if maybe you think the other
person might be struggling with
something or they might have some kind
of challenge or maybe some kind of
problem it’s kind of used to say like do
you want to talk about something or do
you want to discuss something
you could use it if you’re concerned you
can also just use it as like an everyday
greeting like hey how are you is
everything going okay so just to show
that you’re thinking of the other
person’s life but yeah if you use a more
concerned tone with this like is
everything going okay you can show that
you’ve maybe noticed something about the
other person too and you might want to
show it’s okay to talk about it so
depending on your intonation you can
communicate some different ideas with
this expression all right on to the next
one
you won’t believe this
you won’t believe this
okay you won’t believe this is used
before you share ex like some kind of
surprising information or exciting
information you might also hear you’re
not gonna believe this which is a
reduced form of you are not going to
believe this you won’t believe this but
is very common so it’s like saying i
have something so surprising that you
probably will not believe the
information but here it is so you can
share something surprising or exciting
with this phrase
okay onward next is
i haven’t seen you for ages
i haven’t seen you for ages
okay so use this expression instead of
long time no c or you can use them
together like a long time no see i
haven’t seen you for ages so an age is a
very long time the word age so ages is
there for a very very long time multiple
ages so when you say i haven’t seen you
for ages it means i haven’t seen you in
a very long time you use this as a
greeting as i said hey long time no see
i haven’t seen you in ages how have you
been for example
okay next expression the next expression
is that’s terrible
that’s terrible
okay so when someone shares bad news
something bad that happened to them you
should respond with something that shows
you understand their point of view say
that’s terrible or that’s awful or
that’s too bad so terrible means very
bad so if you want to sound like you
know really caring about something bad
that happened to another person use this
expression you lost your job that’s
terrible i’m so sorry to hear that
okay on to the next expression
i’d better let you go
i’d better let you go
okay i’d better let you go this is the
reduced form of i had better let you go
we use this when we’re talking to
someone on the phone or maybe when we’re
having an in-person conversation in the
office to let someone go
means like to release them from
something in this case to release them
from a conversation
so when you say i better let you go it’s
showing i think you’re busy it’s showing
the other person you understand they’re
busy and they have something to do so if
you’re talking to a busy person and you
realize oh my gosh we talked for so long
we’ve been talking for a long time you
can say uh sorry i’d better let you go
meaning i recognize you’re a busy person
and you need to do other things so use
this to end a conversation quickly of
course you can also use this to escape a
conversation you are ready to be
finished with okay let’s go to the next
expression
next is
did you catch the news today
did you catch the news today
so use this as a greeting or as a way to
start a conversation if you want to talk
about current events so did you catch
the news today or did you see the news
this morning is also okay it just shows
you want to talk about recent events
with someone so use this maybe with
someone that you’re okay to talk about
these kinds of topics with okay on to
the next phrase nice day outside isn’t
it
nice day outside isn’t it
nice day outside just refers to the
weather so you can use any kind of
weather and follow it with isn’t it you
can use rainy today isn’t it or oh windy
today isn’t it so that isn’t it shows
you’re looking for confirmation from the
other person nice day outside isn’t it
and of course you can drop outside if
you really want to of course the weather
is outside but this is just an
expression that we use our nice day
today would also be okay so you’re just
starting a conversation by talking about
the weather and finding a small point
you can both agree upon
okay on to the next expression
next is
have you been waiting long
have you been waiting long
use have you been waiting long when you
are supposed to meet another person
and maybe they arrive before you and
you’re worried that they waited a long
time for you so if you for example were
supposed to meet at one o’clock and you
arrive at 1 15 you might say to the
other person have you been waiting long
so you don’t know how long that person
has been waiting maybe they got there 15
minutes early you’re showing that you
have concern for their time with this
expression have you been waiting long
sorry
okay next is
it’s good to have you here
it’s good to have you here
use this expression when you’re hosting
a party hosting an event or maybe you
have a guest in your office someone
who’s not usually around is in your
circle for the day you can say it’s good
to have you here or it’s nice to have
you here that shows that you recognize
that they are a new person but you want
them to feel welcome it’s good to have
you here you could use this at a house
party a dinner event and so on okay next
expression is
what brings you here
what brings you here
okay so this question is a much softer
way of saying why are you here so if you
say why are you here it might sound a
little too direct instead say what
brings you here you could say maybe why
did you decide to come to this event if
you want or you could ask what brings
you here today specifically so these are
all ways to say why did you come here
but they sound much softer and less
aggressive
okay on to the next expression
do you mind me asking
do you mind me asking
okay do you mind me asking is used
before a topic or before a question that
might be a little bit sensitive so if
you want to ask about a person’s age
maybe or if you want to ask about maybe
where a person works or maybe where
they’re from
it could be any kind of information that
you feel is a little bit sensitive you
can use do you mind me asking before you
ask that for example you might say do
you mind me asking how old are you or do
you mind me asking where are you from so
it shows that you are concerned it might
be a slightly sensitive question and it
gives the other person the option to
refuse so do you mind me asking
so you can use this in more sensitive
topics i think okay next expression
are you from around here
are you from around here
are you from around here is a first time
greeting question so you’ve just met
someone you’ve exchanged names you can
say are you from around here that means
is your hometown or the place where you
grew up near where we are now are you
from around this area specifically so
this is maybe a more casual way of
saying where are you from it’s
suggesting that the other person might
be from the local region are you from
around here i just moved
okay next expression is
i need your help with this matter
i need your help with this matter
okay this is a rather formal expression
you would not use this with your friends
or your family members it sounds too
formal use this at work or maybe in a
study a professional more professional
kind of polite study situation i need
your help with this matter or just i
need your help with this i probably
would not say matter in this sentence
but you might see it or hear it from
time to time so use this when you need
someone’s assistance with something and
you need to be polite about it like i
need your help with this paper i’m
writing could you please take a look at
it so i need your help with this so use
that expression when you want to
politely ask someone for help
okay let’s get to the last expression
have fun
have fun
so use have fun when someone else is
going to do something that seems fun so
you say goodbye to your family members
before they leave for an exciting trip
you could say have fun
or you see your co-workers at the end of
the day they decide to go for drinks but
you’re feeling tired but you want to
wish them well you can say have fun and
say goodbye in that way so have fun is a
very positive happy expression some
people will use it to sound a little bit
sarcastic if they want to attend
something but they’re not attending but
generally we use this in a very positive
way to say goodbye i hope you have a
good time alright that brings us to the
end of the top 20 useful phrases for
small talk what did you think you can
let us know in the comments and don’t
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sheets to learn even more useful english
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i’ll see you in the next video bye
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