Business English | How to Make Small Talk in English at Work [605]

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Learn how to make small talk in English with your boss, manager or clients. In this Business English lesson, Harry teaches you 12 practical phrases for starting a conversation, answering questions and making small talk before a meeting.

What can you say when you join a call early or welcome a client to your office? You’ll hear familiar workplace situations, complete examples and clear explanations of when to use each phrase.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to:
• Start a conversation about someone’s week, weekend or journey.
• Ask follow-up questions and respond to what someone tells you.
• Give a short answer about yourself without sharing private details.
• Talk about the weather and understand expressions such as “hump day”.
• Finish small talk politely and begin the meeting.

Harry also explains the difference between “How did it go?” and “What was it like?”, suitable small talk topics at work, and how cultural differences can affect conversations with your manager.

This episode of Speak Better English with Harry is for intermediate and advanced learners who want to learn English for work, improve their English listening skills and practise everyday English conversation. Listen to the examples, repeat the phrases out loud and try them in your next workplace conversation.

Share Your Thoughts

Do you use English at work?

In meetings, you may know exactly what you want to say but still need a few extra seconds to find the English. You may also hesitate because you’re not sure whether a phrase sounds natural, too direct or too weak.

Take my free Meeting English Quiz and try 8 real meeting situations. You’ll see which answers work well in English and where you may need better phrases for meetings.

Take the free Meeting English Quiz: https://www.englishlessonviaskype.com/meetingquiz

If you’d rather work on your English with a teacher, book a free trial lesson. We’ll look at the situations you deal with at work and decide what you need to improve first.

Book a free trial lesson: https://www.englishlessonviaskype.com/trial