Hey there! This is TOP episode 280. 5 Tips For Small Talk That Doesn’t Feel Awkward
Are you tired of lacking confidence when speaking English? Does it block you from achieving your true goals? This podcast is the place for you. This is Teacher Ola Podcast. My name’s Ola Mierniczak and I empower English learners to become confident speakers. The key to fluency is in your pocket. You’ll boost your vocabulary, brush up your grammar and improve your pronunciation. Enjoy your journey to fluency!
Hey there! Thanks for popping by!
Have you ever found yourself in a conversation that just… felt awkward? You say, “How are you?” They say, “Fine.” And then—silence. But don’t worry! Small talk doesn’t have to feel forced or uncomfortable. I know we Polish people hate small talk, it’s part of our culture.
I was there too. Now I love small talk. I see it as the door to more meaningful connection, that wouldn’t happen if it weren’t for the small talk. Small talk offers you an opportunity to go deeper. To open up, to share, to get to know better, to give and get advice.
That’s why I decided to share these five simple tricks to help you keep conversations flowing naturally—without overthinking every word.
Before we get there, I’ll just quickly remind you that this Sunday, the 23 of February I’m organising a free vocabulary class . The topic of that lesson is “Shopping”. If you feel you need to practice speaking, if you need to activate your passive vocabulary – go ahead and join me on Sunday at 8 pm. In order to sign up you need to click the link in the description or simply go to teacherola.com/podstawa.
5 Tips For Small Talk That Doesn’t Feel Awkward
Number one: Replace “How are you?” with a more engaging question
Don’t get me wrong. You can use “How are you”, I use it too. But what I’ve noticed, the classic “How are you?” often leads to a dead-end answer—”Fine, thank you and you,” and that’s it. Instead, try different open-ended questions that actually get people talking. Be more specific. For example:
“How’s your day been so far?”
“How’s your week going?”
“Are you working on anything exciting lately?”
Use your knowledge about that person. What do you know about them? Their child was sick the last time you spoke, ask about that!
“How’s your daughter? I remember she had the flu last month”
Or maybe last time you met you were talking about that weekend plans. Ask how it was. And so on and so forth. Make your small talk personal, meaningful. Because it is a valuable part of a conversation and it can lead to deeper connections with other people.
These kinds of questions make it easy for the other person to share, and before you know it, you’re having a real conversation instead of just exchanging polite, meaningless words.
Number two. Ask follow-up questions
A great conversation is like a game of ping-pong—you say something, they say something, and you keep bouncing it back and forth. But if you just nod and move on, the conversation dies. Let me give you a bad example:
A says: “I work in IT.”
B responds: “Oh, cool.”
See? Dead end. The conversation falls flat. Let’s improve it, listen:
A: “I work in IT.”
B: “Oh, nice! What kind of projects do you work on?”
That was a follow up question that kept the conversation going, because now A has a chance to go on an say for example:
A: “I mostly design websites.”
B: “That sounds fun! Do you have a favorite type of website to design?”
See how much more natural that feels? A simple follow-up question shows you’re interested and makes the other person feel good about talking to you.
Tip number three. Give personal, relatable answers.
When someone asks you a question, don’t just say “yes” or “no.” Add a little extra detail that makes it easy for the other person to respond. Open up. We are so closed, we don’t want to share personal stuff, share our imperfections. We prefer to hide them when I think being honest, being authentic could really bring us together.
Listen to this bad example:
A: “Do you like coffee?”
B: “Yes.”
Awful, right? How about this:
A: “Do you like coffee?”
B: “Yes, I love it! I can’t start my day without one. What about you?”
What about you? That’s a practical tip right there, you can use it any time. How about you always fits. Use it! How about you? What about you?
Also, adding a short comment—like “I can’t start my day without one”—gives the other person something to react to. And just like that, the conversation keeps flowing!
Number four: Use simple, natural phrases to keep the flow
Sometimes, you just don’t know what to say next—and that’s okay! Instead of panicking, use easy “bridge” phrases to keep things moving. I’ll give you some examples. If you have zero ideas for a follow up question, or if you’ve already asked the, now it;’s time for a good bridge. Now, listen and repeat after me:
“Oh, really? That’s interesting!”
“That reminds me of…”
I know what you mean.
Tell me more about that!
That sounds amazing!
Tell me more about it.
What did you do?
How did they react?
These phrases buy you time while making the conversation feel smooth. And the best part? They make you sound engaged and confident, even if you’re just figuring out what to say next.
The last tip. End the conversation smoothly
No conversation has to last forever, but instead of suddenly walking away, wrap things up naturally. Here’s how. Listen and repeat:
“It was great catching up! Let’s talk again soon.”
“I have to run, but it was nice chatting with you!”
“I’ll let you get back to your day. Have a good one!”
Natural, a bit nonchalant ending leaves a positive impression and makes both of you feel good—even if you were only chatting for a few minutes.
Small talk doesn’t have to feel forced or awkward. If you use these five strategies, you’ll start feeling much more comfortable in everyday conversations.
Which tip do you think will help you the most? Let me know! You can comment here, on YouTube, Spotify, my website or you can catch me in a DM on Instagram, you can email me. I’m waiting for your feedback.
Now it’s time to practice speaking. Listen and repeat out loud:
How’s your day been so far?
How’s your week going?
Are you working on anything exciting lately?
What about you?
Oh, really? That’s interesting!
I know what you mean.
Tell me more about that!
It was great catching up!
I have to run. Let’s talk again soon.
I’ll let you get back to your day.
Good job!
Remember, If you feel like you could use an extra class please join us on the 23 February. I’m hosting a free vocabulary lesson level A2. Come and join us! How to sign up? You’ll find the links in the description, or simply go to: teacherola.com/podstawa.
Don’t forget to download a free worksheet that will summarise and help you memorise today’s episode. You’ll find it in your inbox or if you’re new here please go to teacherola.com/280.
Thank you so much for listening. I’ll see you in the next episode!
I believe in you, I know you can speak English with fluency IF you really want it! Stay fearless, take care and say it out loud! I’m your teacher, Teacher Ola, and you were listening to Teacher Ola Podcast. Bye for now. See you on Sunday!