How should you answer 'How are you?' in small talk?

Keep it short, because in small talk it is a greeting, not a real question about your health: 'Good, thanks — you?'

Is it 'How do you call this?' or 'What do you call this?'

Say 'What do you call this in English?', not 'How do you call this?' Ask with 'what', not 'how'.

How do you end small talk politely?

Signal that you are wrapping up and close warmly, with a line like 'Anyway, I'd better get going' or 'It was nice talking to you.'

Vocabulary Level A2

Small Talk in English: Phrases to Start a Conversation

Small talk in English made easy: friendly openers, safe topics, follow-up phrases, and polite ways to end a conversation — with mistakes to avoid.

break the ice · keep it light · close politely

Small talk is light, friendly conversation — the few minutes before a meeting, in an elevator, or waiting for coffee. It's not about deep topics; it's about being warm and easy to talk to. The good news: it follows a pattern. Learn a phrase for opening, a few safe topics, and a polite way to close, and you're ready for most situations.

Openers

A greeting plus a light question. Keep your own answer short and bounce it back.

How's it going? · How are you? · How have you been? · How was your weekend? · Good, thanks — you?

Safe topics

The weather, the weekend, work, or your surroundings are all easy, low-risk ways in.

Lovely day, isn't it? · Did you do anything fun this weekend? · How's work going? · Have you been busy lately? · This coffee is great, isn't it?

A question tag like isn't it? is a classic small-talk move — it turns a comment into a friendly invitation to reply.

Keep it going

React with a short phrase, then ask a follow-up. The trick is to show interest and pass the turn back.

Really? · Oh, nice! · That's great. · That sounds fun. · How about you? · What about you?

End politely

Don't just walk away — signal that you're wrapping up, then close warmly.

Anyway, I'd better get going. · It was nice talking to you. · Let's catch up soon. · Have a good one! · See you around.

Common mistakes

Answering "How are you?" too literally. In small talk it's a greeting, not a real question about your health — keep it short.

✕How are you? — Well, I didn't sleep, my back hurts, and…
✓How are you? — Good, thanks — you?

"How do you call this?" Ask with what, not how.

✕How do you call this in English?
✓What do you call this in English?

Leaving with no closing phrase. Ending a chat by suddenly turning away can feel abrupt. A quick "It was nice talking to you" makes the exit friendly.

Quick exercise

Complete each small-talk line with one word.

How's it ___ ?
Lovely day, ___ it?
It was nice ___ to you.
Anyway, I'd better get ___ .
How was your ___ ?

Answer key

going ("How's it going?" — a common opener)
isn't (question tag after a positive statement)
talking ("nice talking to you" — after a preposition, use -ing)
going ("get going" = leave)
weekend (a safe, friendly topic)

Practice this in Recursio

Small talk runs on a small set of reusable phrases, so it's perfect for spaced review. Save the openers and closers that fit you to your word list in Recursio, and daily review can bring lines like "How's it going?" and "I'd better get going" back until they come out naturally.

Build your word list in Recursio → · Free to start, on iOS and Android.