Small talk

Feifei Hello. This is The English We Speak. This is Rob…

Rob
And this is Feifei. So, Feifei, how did the blind date go?

Feifei
Not great - a disaster in fact.

Rob
Oh no. Why didn’t you just follow my advice?

Feifei
I did! Wear something nice, turn up late and make small talk.

Rob
Yes, make small talk. Exactly.

Feifei
Well, when I started making small talk, the guy looked at me in a strange way and then walked off.

Rob Oh no. What did you say?

Feifei
Things like ‘hi’, ‘good’, ‘yes’, ‘no’, ‘great’ - small words.

Rob
But no sentences? I think you’ve got the wrong end of the stick here - I mean you’ve misunderstood - making small talk means making informal conversation about unimportant things. If you’re meeting someone for the first time, it’s a good way to make them feel relaxed - you know, break the ice.

Feifei
Right! Make ‘small’ conversation.

Rob
I guess we should hear some examples …

Examples
I didn’t know anybody at my cousin’s wedding so I tried to make small talk with the guests.

I’m shy and not very good at small talk. That’s why I hate going to parties.

At the office party, we all had to stand around making small talk, but all I really wanted to do was go home!

Feifei
This is The English We Speak from BBC Learning English. And we’re learning about the expression ‘small talk’ - that’s informal conversation which is meant to make people feel more relaxed and stops any embarrassing silence. Actually, Rob, I do know about small talk. It’s just that…

Rob
So, why didn’t you say?

Feifei
Well, I was going to tell you that …

Rob
You’ll never get a boyfriend if you don’t speak up, Feifei! You really need to talk more.

Feifei
Rob.

Rob
Yes?

Feifei
What I was trying to say was, I did not have time for small talk because my date would not stop talking. He was rude, arrogant and wouldn’t let me get a word in edgeways! Now, who does that remind me of?!

Rob
Err… Nice weather for the time of year, don’t you think?

Feifei
It’s a bit late for small talk now, Rob. You’ve said far too much.

Rob
Oh.

Feifei
Bye bye!

Rob
Bye!