Icebreaker

Business English 2: Small Talk as an Icebreaker
Some people find it easy to talk to anyone, for others, it is hard work. The good news,
however, is that making small talk is a skill that can be learned. There are safe topics you can
discuss but also talk you should stay away from. But why is small talk so important?
Was hat es also mit dem berühmt berüchtigten Small Talk auf sich? Unter Small Talk versteht
man ein lockeres, ungezwungenes Gespräch ohne Tiefgang mit einer oder mehreren
unbekannten Personen. Man tauscht sich unverbindlich aus und kann so Zeit überbrücken,
während man auf den Beginn einer Veranstaltung wartet, vor der Kaffeemaschine Schlange
steht o.ä. Übrigens gilt heutzutage Small Talk als Schlüsselqualifikation im Job.
Why small talk?

The purpose of making small talk in business is to break the ice and thus feel at ease, build
relationships, and create trust. When you do business with someone you don’t know, you
want to find out as soon as possible if you can trust them. Small talk is a first step to find out
whether you share common interests and opinions, experiences, concerns. Moreover, it is
always a good alternative to silence which might feel uncomfortable.
From fear to confidence

Why are so many people afraid of making small talk?
What are the challenges?
• You are unprepared to talk about certain subjects that might come up or lost for ideas
• You don’t know all the vocabulary in English to discuss subjects or react to questions
• You are inexperienced in this area
• You might be shy or uninterested and feel that you’re not in control
What could be the solution?

- Prepare and practise!
If your customer comes from another country, look up some facts on the internet (preferably
in English because there you can find some important vocabulary) or think about some
questions you are interested in. Show interest in the other person, it makes them feel seen
and valued and creates a positive atmosphere.
Practising means that the next time you meet somebody for the first time, you take the
chance and all your courage instead of being quiet and feeling uncomfortable. That’s the only
way you can learn it.
Small talk techniques
• Asking questions
• Giving an opinion
• Stating a fact
• Complimenting the other person on something
• Finding common interests
• Offering information about yourself and asking ’what about you? `
Try to ask open questions using ’who, what, why, where, how or which’.
Yes/no questions are tricky because people might just answer ’yes’ or ’no’ without adding
anything and you need to come up with another question.
Topics for small talk

There are low-risk and high-risk topics.
High-risk topics are about religion, politics, controversial topics, personal health and illness,
gossip (Ratsch und Tratsch), conflict, money. These should be avoided. Of course, if you are
meeting a close friend, these topics may be excellent. But remember small talk is generally
with people you don’t know well. Jokes can also be tricky because not everybody has the
same sense of humour, especially in an international and intercultural environment.
Low-risk topics are the weather, traffic and vehicles, your situation, family (general
questions, not questions about private matters), current events, hobbies, sports (current
matches or games, favourite teams etc.), media (films, books, magazines) home town (where
do you come from, how is it different or similar to this town), animals, plants, food and drink,
culture, work (general questions, not too specific), and holidays.
Even if you think that talking about the weather is boring, it can always be a good start.
Keeping the conversation going

Finding something you have in common is a great thing which makes it easy to continue your
conversation. It may, however, take a while until you’ve found something but don’t give up.
Example dialogue:
A: Did you watch the football match last night?
B: I don’t like football.
A: What kind of sports do you watch?
B: I don’t watch any sports.
A: What do you like watching?
B: I like talk shows.
A: Oh, awesome, me too. Which is your favourite one?
You can see from this short dialogue that person B was not very cooperative and it was quite
an effort for person A to find something to talk about.
Remember
Always put yourself into the other person’s shoes. Be cooperative and interested even if
you’ve had a stressful journey or any other trouble. Small talk is not a one-way street!
Active listening is the key to show your interest by keeping your attention focused on the
speaker and to use body language such as looking at the person speaking, nodding, smiling
etc.
Make short comments to show your attention:
• Really?
• That’s interesting!
• Right/OK/I see.
• Ah! / Uh-huh.
Pay close attention to what the other person is telling you, what additional information they
give you.
A: It was a long journey to get here but I should be used to that by now.
B: How long was the journey?
As person A said that he should be used to it by now, you can conclude that he goes on
business trips quite frequently. Therefore, your next question could be
• How often do you go on business trips?
• What has been the most interesting trip for you?
• Have you ever been to…?
After each question you wait for the answer and see what further information you get and
what you can do with it. Also share some information about yourself, e.g. how often you go
on business trips, whether you like it or not, what places you have been to, something
unusual/funny/strange that happened to you on a business trip etc.
This is the whole secret of making small talk. Pay attention, listen carefully, and don’t panic
about your next question or comment. If you practise it a little bit, you will become more
confident and your conversations will develop quite naturally in the future.
Perhaps you can remember any of the details you exchange and use it for the next meeting
with this person. Then you have created a really good basis for a business relationship or just
a future contact.
So much for today. I hope I could give you a short insight into this important key skill which is
becoming more and more relevant also for young people in the era of social media. Stay
tuned!
Small talk phrases

Talk about the place you’re in
• It’s a nice conference venue/meeting room, isn’t it?
• Is it your first time here?
Talk about work
• What do you do (for a living)?
• Where do you work?
• Are you working on any new projects?
• How long have you been with this/your company?
Talk about plans/travel
• Do you have any plans for the Easter/summer holidays?
• Do you have a favourite holiday resort?
• Are you taking time off for Christmas?
Talk about TV shows, movies, books
• What did you think about the last Bond movie?
• Would you recommend it?
• Is there a good series on Netflix at the moment?
Talk about general interests and activities
• I’m interested in … (history, painting, photography)
• I like … (reading, classical music, opera, theatre, art)
• I go …. (walking, climbing, hunting, parachuting, camping)
• I play … (the guitar, the piano, in a band)
• I enjoy playing … (chess, poker)
• I collect …. (coins, stamps, antiques)
• What kind of music do you like?
• Are you interested in …. ?
• Do you do any sport? Do you play … ?
How to end small talk
• Anyway, it was great speaking to you!
• So, I guess I should be leaving now.
• I hope we can talk again soon.
• It’s really late, I’d better get going.
• I’d love to hear how your project goes. Here is my number/email.
• Is there a way to connect with you, perhaps on social media?
• Do you have Facebook or Instagram?
• Keep in touch.
• I look forward to seeing you next month.
Sabine Barz, English communication-skills trainer, www.english-wanted.de

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Business English 2: Small Talk as an Icebreaker

Why small talk?

From fear to confidence

What could be the solution?

Topics for small talk

Keeping the conversation going

Small talk phrases

Sabine Barz, English communication-skills trainer, www.english-wanted.de

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