What do you do when you bump into someone you know but who you are not so close to? Perhaps someone you went to university with or an old colleague. Do you try to leave as soon as possible or do you stay and have a chat?
- “Sam, fancy meeting you here! It’s been ages since I saw you – how are things?!
- “Pretty good. Got a new job in Prague and my wife’s expecting.”
- “Congratulations!”
Small talk is something which some of my Czech students find difficult, as it’s not as common here. Compared with Americans or Brits, Czechs chat less with people who they don’t know as well. However when you meet up with English speakers, being able to carry a friendly everyday conversation will help give a more positive impression of yourself and improve the rapport between you.
Below are some typical small talk phrases you can use next time you bump into someone you know, where perhaps you haven’t seen each other for a while. And if you feel uncomfortable with small talk, next time try to stay longer in the interaction. Stay one minute longer than you would normally. Do it regularly and you’ll more relaxed in these situations.
Opening the conversation
Hi, fancy seeing you here – how are you?!
Hi.. it’s great to see you again!
Hi..how are you doing?!
I haven’t seen you for/in ages – how are things?
I haven’t seen you since (Christmas). How are you going?
Phrases like ‘how are you going?’ are often shortened in spoken English to ‘How you going?’ or phonetically you’ll even hear something like ‘how-ya going?!’
‘Fancy meeting you here!’ is used especially in the UK and Australia to show you’re surprised to meet them at this place.
Catching up and gossiping
(The) last time I saw you, you were looking for a new job. How’d that go?
I think it’s been a year now. Did you end up getting that job | promotion? nb we use ‘that’ to refer to things we both already know about, in this case ‘that job’ refers to ‘that job I remember you applied for’
I remember you were planning to head off to Japan. How’d it go?
Did you hear about Susan and Jim? They’re getting a divorce!
You won’t believe this – Kelly’s pregnant!
Last time I heard you were moving to Londonia. What happened?
Asking about their work or studies
Are you still working for (company)?
Are you still with (company)?
How’s it going at (company/university)?
How’s business?
So how are your studies going?
So how’s work going?
Responding to good news
That’s great!
That’s wonderful!
Congratulations! nb congratulations in English is plural. Congratulations + ON + noun phrase
eg Congratulations on | getting the job | the promotion!
Awesome | fantastic | cool! nb ‘awesome’ is being used a lot these days, and some people especially Brits don’t like to hear it too much. Say it more with an American 
Responding to bad or disappointing news
I’m really sorry to hear that.
Well I hope everything will be alright.
Will you manage ok?
That’s terrible!
That’s awful!
I just can’t believe it.
Asking after someone else
How are the kids?
How’s Mike going?
Please say ‘hi’ to him for me.
Please give my regards to (person) for me. [more formal]
Commenting on someone’s new look
Hey I really like your new hairstyle.
I really love those shoes – where’d you get them? [nb a grown man may not want to say this]
You look like you’ve been working out [to a man who might be going to the gym]
You look in great shape!
You look great!
Those glasses really suit you! [my own students can practise this one for our first lesson of the year 
]
Closing the conversation
It’s been great to see you again but I’d better be off..
Sorry, I’ve got to go – I’ve got a meeting at 11am.
Listen, we should do this again sometime [and then swap numbers if you don't have their details]
Look, let’s catch up again – what about next week? [if you're confident you both want to catch up]
It was great talking with you, but I’ve got to go. Good luck with the new job!
I’d better let you go This is a polite way to show you are respecting their time, but you want to go too
If you don’t want to see this person again soon, I wouldn’t recommend suggesting a time to meet just to be ‘polite.’ Instead, you can simply say how good it was to see them and wish them a good day or wish them well with something you just talked about.
Further reading from Get Into English
So how was the flight? – includes worksheet to download
Photo credits
Image: John Haslam
Licence (CC by 2.0)
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David Sweetnam
English Teacher and Trainer
Engage s.r.o.
david [at] GetIntoEnglish [dot] com
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi David !
Excellent article !!! I read it with pleasure and I’m sure that this source is very useful. And I agree with you that each ethnic nationality has different attitude to small talk and it’s determined by the genetic and cultural particular qualities . But in any case small talk is fine method for improving our communicative skills in daily life
)
I wish you a pleasant day
)
Hi Milal
Nice to hear from you again. How’s winter treating you?!
Yeah, for me small talk is different in Melbourne and Vancouver compared to here in Prague. Perhaps it’s due to historical reasons that Czechs are generally less interested in talking about their work and life, especially to someone they don’t know as well.
Have a good day
David