Hi, everybody. Today we want to talk about small talk. Small talk refers to light conversation -
it's not in-depth. You're not talking about important topics
or deep meaningful things. Usually you're also talking with someone who you
dont know very well or you've just met. So imagine you're at a gathering of many people,
and you are introduced to somebody new. In this context, what would you say
to this person? What are the things that you can talk about with that person?
So we're going to give you some examples of different topics and we're
going to talk about whether those are appropriate topics or inappropriate topics
for small talk. This is something that's different between different cultures,
so it's a good thing to think about in a new cultural context.
So we're thinking specifically of Western cultures. What you should and
shouldn't say or ask to someone who is from United States or Canada or parts of
Europe (that's right), Australia. Yeah. There's lots of places.
Hey Larissa. It's really hot out today.
I know! I really...I can't wait till the fall. Yeah, me neither.
Are you a Christian?
[awkwardly] Oh, no. Oh, okay.
Misha, you've lost weight!
So what kind of work do you?
I'm a teacher. Oh cool. Yeah.
How much do you make every year?
[awkwardly] I'm.. I'm not really comfortable talking about that.
So how long have you been teaching?
15 years. Whoa, that's a while! How old are you?
Umm..
Did you see the game last night?
Oh yeah. Oh my gosh. I was a good one! Yeah.
Did you vote in the last election?
Yeah. Who did you vote for?
Oh, that's none of your business.
Did you see American Idol last night? My favourite singer won.
Whoa. That's exciting. I didn't see it but, tell me more!
Misha, you're looking a little pale. Are you okay?
[with attitude] Yeah, I'm fine. (Sorry).
Did you get a haircut?
Yeah, do you like? I love it! Thanks!
Oh, nice phone. Thanks. Yeah, how much did it cost?
[uncomfortably] Oh. It was on sale.
Do you have any kids?
[with sadness] No. I'm sorry.
So what have you been up to today? Not much. I just dropped off my kids at school.
Oh, how many kids do you have?
I have two. Oh, how old are they? They're seven and... [fades out]
So as you can see, people will have different reactions to different questions.
And sometimes the same question will cause a different reaction in different people.
So for example, when Misha asked me about my children I was very happy
to tell her about them, and how old they are, and what they're doing.
I will talk about them for an hour. Mm-hmm. But if I ask it to Misha, maybe that's a
sensitive issue for her and so I'm bringing up something that is painful.
Think about if someone has lost a family member or if they haven't seen them for
a long time. It can make..it can bring up negative emotions. So with family, or
relationships like marriage, or things like this, maybe you want to wait for the
other person to bring it up. So Larissa, I asked her what she did this morning and
she told me she dropped her kids off at school, so then I asked follow-up
questions because it was something she already brought up. It seemed appropriate.
Yeah, so in general, the topics you want to avoid all together are anything having
to do with money. So never ask someone what something costs,
how much they earn, none of those questions, ever. If they volunteer
the information, you can ask more. That's right. Don't just ask. Yeah,
Don't bring it up yourself. And also you want to avoid talking about religion and politics.
These are kind of taboo topics in in our culture, and specifics of health.
If you have known that someone was unwell and you're asking if they're feeling better,
that's okay. Yeah. [for example] Oh, you were gone yesterday. Are you feeling better?
Yeah, I'm feeling better, right? That's appropriate. But don't bring it up yourself
or don't ask specifics, right? Don't don't get too detailed.
In general, we don't like to talk about body very much - changes in body.
But the things you can talk about easily are weather - especially Canadians love to talk about the weather
All the time, in any situation, bring it up. It'll be fine.. it'll go for..
you'll have whole minutes of conversation.
Also you can talk about sports or entertainment like singers, music, TV shows,
movies, yeah, movies, news, mm-hmm, that's right, news.
You can..if you want to talk about someone's appearance in a complementary way,
only hair or clothing - that's okay. Yeah, and anything that the other person brings up first.
Exactly this is the best way to keep a conversation going.
Listen to what they say, and then ask more about that.
So, give it a try!
None of your business!
How 'bout them sports?
Younger than I look! Older than I look.
I make YouTube videos.
We're going to run ourselves out of tape. Digital tape.