English Speaking Skills:  Small Talk Topics

Holidays are occasions for gatherings and conversation. We also use small talk conversations to build rapport and relationship when we gather for meetings.  Thirdly, even when waiting for events to begin, we often engage in conversation and build connection to those people around us.

Whether or not we are shy, it’s a good idea to prepare several topics of conversation before we go to the meeting, reception, or social gathering of any kind.

Here are some general topics you can adapt to you and the people you are conversing with:

• Sports (national and international, for example, soccer, basketball, American football, hockey, tournaments, salaries, injuries, hero stories etc.)
• Weather (the good, the bad, the unusual)
• Local events
• Film and art festivals, musical concerts, community theater
• What’s trending on social media
• Newest or top selling tech devices
• Traffic/parking problems
• Latest movie (Academy Awards, Emmys, Golden Globes)
• Best-selling books, fiction and nonfiction, scientific and quirky
• Current media top topics – from internet to social media to print media to popular media
• Hobbies (gardening, cooking, biking, hiking, traveling etc.)
• Politics, politicians
• World events (the good, the bad, the unusual)
• Local school district issues, local university issues
• Holidays (New Year, Labor Day,  President’s Day, Chinese New Year)
• Alma maters (where you attended school from elementary on)
• Favorite tournaments (World Cup, Olympics, LPGA, Masters, NCAA, Wimbleton)
• Your current location – city, conference center, restaurant, university venue etc.
• The event: wedding, meeting, trade show, holiday celebration, anniversary, dissertation defense, celebration of academic milestone
• The host or hostess

Be sure to watch our English Speech Tips videos and Accent Reduction Tip videos  for more English pronunciation and accent reduction exercise.

Check out our new advanced weekly speech tip program, our new subscription called ClearTalk Weekly, www.subscription.cleartalkmastery.com

Rerun from Dec 23, 2015