How to Start a Conversation in English - 187 Examples

hi there my name is chris amerikos and in this video i'm going to tell you how to start a conversation in english there's a lot of different ways that you can do this and in this video i'm going to show you examples and i'm even going to show you how you can practice using these ways of starting conversations with native speakers and other people who are learning english around the world so let's jump right into this video come on [Music] sometimes when we want to start a conversation with a person who we don't know or maybe a group of people who we don't know we want to say something that's going to make everyone feel less stressed right that will make them feel more comfortable and we call this breaking the ice so there are some special phrases that we might use in english that help us break the ice and these special phrases are called ice breakers and let's look at a few icebreakers right now an icebreaker might be something like hey how's it going or what's up but let's look at all of these different ways to start a conversation in english in different categories right there's different situations and some situations call for different icebreakers or different phrases now other than icebreakers there are some general starters that we can use just to get things going to get everything moving forward right because sometimes you see a person and you don't know what to talk to them about you don't know what they will be comfortable with so there are some standard conversation starters that i'm going to show you right now it's usually a good idea to begin a conversation with the basics like what's your name or where are you from or you could initiate a conversation by introducing yourself hi i'm chris amerikos what's your name or i'm chris from the united states where are you from or you could open up a conversation by talking about something that's happening at the time or in the place where the meeting is taking place so maybe the music is really loud and i can say the music is too loud in here hi i'm chris what's your name right so we're using this situation to start the conversation or who are our mutual acquaintances right those are people who we both know we call them mutual acquaintances or you could kick off a conversation by giving the person a compliment that's a great jacket where did you get it i'm chris by the way or your english is great hi i'm chris what's your name or you could begin a conversation by asking a question like what do you do for a living right this means what is your job how do you make money we say what do you do for a living or we could ask where are you from originally we ask this question when we know that the person is not from here so maybe you know that the person is not from your country and they speak your language very well and maybe you can say where are you from originally like i understand that you probably live here but you came from a different place before alright so we've talked about a lot of different phrases but let's back up back up and let's talk about greeting words these are words that we can use to get conversations started too and sometimes we don't have to use a whole phrase we can just use one word and it's a greeting right every language has this and many people start conversations just like this some of these words are hey hi yo that one's really informal or sup that's a short form of the question what's up which is just a greeting or we might say howdy it's very american or hello that's more formal or g'day that's more australian all right some of those greetings are more formal than others and that's why it's really important to understand the difference between formal greetings and informal greetings in most situations with people you're going to use informal greetings because probably you're practicing your english in an informal situation however if you find yourself in a formal situation you should use formal ways to start conversations but right now let's look at the informal ways that we can get things rolling when we're speaking informally we can say things like how's it going or what's going on what's up and also we can use some slang phrases like what's poppin or what's crackin or maybe what's new or what's good also there's more typical informal greetings like how are you doing and how are things so one of the problems that a lot of my students have and the students who have studied with me around the world i mean thousands of students who have joined my lessons they've told me that they have trouble starting conversations with people who they don't know at all and it's not really about starting the conversation it's about continuing the conversation and you know making it move forward and making it longer because if you just say a few words you're not really making a connection with this person so there are a few things that we can do to continue the conversation first of all we could add details we could ask questions and we could ask for opinions and this will lead us to more of a discussion which will be really good for keeping the conversation going when you're speaking with people who you don't know impersonal questions are the best way to initiate a conversation you know we can connect our questions to events that are happening around us like do you mind if i sit here right maybe you see that there's an open chair or an open seat next to the person and you can ask do you mind if i sit here this is a good way to first of all make sure that the person will not be uncomfortable when you sit there but also it's a good way to initiate a conversation we might say i really like your shoes where did you get them or maybe a more useful question excuse me do you know what time it is or maybe could you tell me when this shop closes after we start by asking some questions we can also add details to make the conversation keep going this means that we need to add details about the topic that we're already speaking about and maybe we want to speak about different parts or aspects of that topic so maybe we're talking about watching a film and we can say did you enjoy it did you like it we might say the reason i'm asking is because i've been thinking about watching that film and i just wanted to know if it's good or not and hopefully this person will tell us their opinion right and we'll get more details we might be talking about going to a restaurant and we can say that restaurant that you're talking about is it near here i've been looking for a good thai restaurant around here so thanks for recommending that so if the person adds more details we can thank them for these details we can say thanks for your suggestion or we could say i appreciate you telling me about that if you want to have a long conversation then you'll probably want to get to know the person you're speaking with better this means you learn more about them when we learn more about someone or something we can say that we get to know it or get to know it better to keep the conversation going you'll want to ask some general questions and try to find topics of common interest for example do you come to these places a lot right maybe we meet a person in a cafe and we say do you come to cafes a lot it's a good way to start or maybe what made you come here today or what are you doing here today do you always come here on wednesdays for example we might ask them about their job and say what line of work are you in a line of work it just means an industry or a type of work and we might also just ask about if they're local we might say are you from around here now when we've found a conversation topic that both people are comfortable speaking about we can take the conversation deeper by switching topics so maybe they tell us some information and then instead of them telling all the details now we share information too and we share our details about us so we might say you have a brother what a coincidence i have a brother too or i love dogs how many dogs do you have or no way i used to live in boston too another way to engage someone in a deep conversation is by asking for their opinion everyone's got an opinion and most people like sharing theirs so here's how you can do that you can say have you had any luck with this website like for example let's say that you join my english everyday program where you can practice speaking 24 7 and it's really cheap and you want to talk to another person there who has been studying for two or three months with us right you can say have you had any luck with this website it means what's your experience with this website another question we might ask is do you think it's okay that i'm getting a call from this number right in this situation probably the person is with us and we show them the number and they say yes it's okay to answer that or no and maybe we don't know and we want to ask the other person's opinion we can say hmm i'm not sure what do you think about this that's another good way to ask for their opinion in the beginning of a conversation it's really interesting to talk to a new person but after some time that feeling goes away so that's when you'll want to mention something that's closely connected to the topic that you've already been discussing so you might do it like this you might say speaking of great films have you seen this film and then you can recommend your film you can say what you like or we might say that's right you know what else happened that day and we might give more information right maybe they added some information and now we want to show them that something else is connected to this topic that they were speaking about or my favorite one is oh that reminds me you can just say this phrase right before you say something that's connected to the topic they might say i was taking my dog for a walk yesterday and my dog chased the mailman and i might say oh that reminds me i didn't get mail from the mailman for the last five days and so you see it's not really about the dog anymore now it's about my situation and i just used this phrase to change directions and i can just say oh that reminds me and then say what i wanted to say right now when you've been speaking with someone for a while it's a polite gesture to check and make sure that they want to continue you don't want to just keep talking and talking and talking and maybe they're not interested right so it's a good idea to get confirmation from them and be sure that they're not just being polite by listening to you here's what i like to say i like to tell them let me know if you need to go i don't want to keep you from anything now this is quite polite if we say it once and the person just says oh no no no you're not keeping me go on or i might say i haven't caught you at a bad time have i is it okay for you to talk or maybe you're probably in the middle of something right now do you have time to chat so we're just checking that we're not wasting their time that they're actually interested one of the most important parts of having a good conversation with someone is knowing when to shut up and stop talking the best way to transition out of a conversation is by talking about future plans you might do this by saying hey feel free to get in touch with me if you're ever in town again right this way you're opening up to the next step the next step of the relationship and the next time that you're going to have communication with this person you might say i've really enjoyed our chat today thank you so much or you might say if you want to chat again i'm usually in this cafe on fridays right so instead of contacting each other we'll just show up or we might just say that it was nice to meet them and we might say something to tell them that the conversation is finished right like it was great meeting you today i'll see you next time or i'll see you around when we say i'll see you around it means i will see you somewhere sometime we're not going to plan it but i'm sure that i will see you again now one type of conversation starter that we have to really be careful with is imperatives these are commands it's when we tell somebody to do something and in some languages this doesn't sound very rude or maybe it's just the way that people speak but in english when we use commands and when we use the imperative form of the verb it can sound rude because we're using direct language instead of indirect language let me give you some examples now if you don't know what imperatives are imperatives are commands they're the form of the verb that we should use when we give orders or we give instructions in many situations they sound very direct they can sound forceful and even rude and that's why we have to be careful when we're using them but here are a few that we might use to get the conversation started we might say talk about something now i personally don't like it when someone says this to me because i wasn't planning to speak about something right if i had something to speak about i would tell you but i've heard other people say this to me many times another thing that people might say is tell me something interesting or tell me your story or tell me about yourself so when we do this when we use an imperative and we command another person to start speaking it can feel a little uncomfortable for them because it's so direct all right next let's talk a little bit about what you can say to start a conversation with your colleagues or your co-workers hi mike how's it going how are you doing i'm having a really slow day today how about you when we say that we're having a slow day it means that we don't have a lot of work or we're not completing a lot of tasks another important situation to understand is when you start a conversation with a person that you haven't seen for a long time it's been a very long time and maybe you haven't spoken in quite a while and now you want to initiate the conversation so how do you do that hey mike how have you been what have you been up to lately we haven't spoken in ages are you still working at dunkin donuts long time no see this is probably one of my favorites and i use it a lot when i meet someone who i haven't seen in a while i say long time no see it means i haven't seen you in a long time or you might ask where have you been another situation that a lot of my students have asked me about is starting a conversation with a foreigner and usually that means it's an english-speaking person who is visiting their country but sometimes it's about visiting another country and starting a conversation with someone there here are some tips when you're speaking with a foreigner you should be honest don't just say things to agree with them or because you think that they're going to like hearing it you should imagine what your own reaction would be if someone asks you the same question because sometimes when we speak with foreigners we feel like we're speaking with a different species a different type of person but really they're the same as us so we should think about how we might feel if someone asked us that question right if you don't know how to answer that question yourself then you probably shouldn't ask someone else you should avoid yes or no questions instead of asking something like do you like pizza you can ask what kind of food do you like and now they need to explain this to you most importantly you should be friendly people like meeting other friendly people even if they aren't friendly themselves it's funny but true and being friendly helps everyone relax and feel comfortable one thing that i've seen a lot of is more and more conversations talk about technology and there are a lot of discussions about technology because today we use a lot of technological things in our lives so how do you start a conversation about technology topics which devices do you use every day without exception what was the best invention to come about in the last decade does technology improve our lives or complicate them that's a very philosophical question right will technology become more intelligent than humans which new technology are you most excited about right now okay one of my favorite situations is like the tv show friends if you've never seen it it's about a group of people who are friends and they meet at a cafe and they talk about all kinds of different things that are happening in their lives and a lot of my students have asked me how do i start a conversation in a cafe or a restaurant or a bar so let's look at a few ways that we can do that i really need a coffee how was your day do you know if the buffalo sandwich is good here what's your favorite thing to order here i'm not sure what to order to drink what would you recommend enjoy your pasta have a good meal another big topic that you should know about is starting a conversation about traveling when you're traveling to another place a lot of people want to talk to you and ask you about your experience with traveling and maybe they're just interested in knowing about your journey so how can we start a conversation about traveling and continue it do you prefer traveling alone or in a group do you usually use a tour agent or book things yourself what's the longest flight you've ever been on where do you plan to travel to next is there a place you recommend visiting what's your favorite aspect of traveling what what i can't hear you what how do you start a conversation at a concert with live music when it's super loud and you can't hear anything here's some examples there are a lot of people here have you ever been here before what's your favorite song by this group how often do you go to live shows do you play music or just listen do you sing okay a lot of people have conversations on the phone so how do you start conversations about using the phone or on the phone there's a lot of situations when we need to know this but unfortunately a lot of people don't know these phrases so let's look at them now how often do you check your phone what do you think phones will be like 10 years from now how often do you buy a new phone how does it make you feel when you're away from your phone for a long time what do you wish that your phone could do that it doesn't do now i don't know about you but i love listening to music and sometimes i want to start a conversation with someone about music here's how i do that what's your favorite song who's your favorite singer do you like classical music how do you find new songs and new music is there a specific song that you always listen to when you're sad what's your favorite genre of music okay imagine the next situation you're traveling to a foreign country and you're sitting at the airport waiting to take off or maybe you're coming back from a vacation and someone looks interesting or someone starts a conversation with you or someone seems like a person who you might be friends with and you start a conversation you want to strike up a nice little chat how do you do that at the airport where are you flying today can you recommend any good restaurants in this airport are you flying home or somewhere else are you traveling for business or pleasure this is a question that people ask a lot pleasure means that you're on vacation you're enjoying yourself and business means that it's a business trip there's a business reason for your travel is there anywhere to charge a phone nearby do you know what time will board the plane now sometimes when you're at a shop looking for new clothes someone else might also be looking at the same things and maybe they're wearing something very stylish and you want to start a conversation with them and see where it goes here's how you can do that what's the most embarrassing piece of clothing you own how do you think clothes change the way that people perceive us do you think it's important to dress up when you go out in public what's the most expensive piece of clothing you've ever bought you know maybe the only other thing that i like as much as music is food and food is a topic that many people all over the world discuss and like discussing and they like eating it too that's what i do but if you need to start a conversation about food or about eating food or about restaurants here's some examples do you like eating at buffets that's right we pronounce this word buffet in english and in different places it has a different meaning but in english it's usually a place where you pay one price to go in the door and then you can eat all the food that you want what food do you hate what's your favorite dish what food are you trying to cut down on what would the last meal of your life be and who would you share it with wow that's a big question right do you enjoy going grocery shopping grocery shopping is when we go to the grocery store or the supermarket and we buy food sometimes we call it food shopping and sometimes we call it grocery shopping do you think the government regulates food enough okay i don't know if this situation is about you but for me a lot of people want to speak to me about education and about learning especially learning english and there are some special phrases that we can use to start a conversation about education is it better to go to a private school or a public school are standardized tests accurate is offline education more effective than online education that's a big question too is teaching a skill that can be taught or is it a natural ability what do you think about homeschooling how has education changed your life do you think that your country has a good education system alright another really important situation is birthday parties when you go to a birthday party usually you meet people who are acquaintances or friends of the birthday boy or girl and you need to be able to start a conversation and speak about some topics that you might have in common here's how i like to do that how do you know the birthday boy when is your birthday did you try the birthday cake it's so rich when we're talking about food especially about chocolate the word rich means that it has a very strong taste usually it's a bitter taste sometimes people use this about sweet tastes also all right the next situation that i'm going to describe to you you're probably familiar with because if you've seen any of my videos on any of my channels or websites then you know that something that's really near and dear to my heart is goals and goal setting i love talking about goals i love thinking about goals and i love planning them and then executing them so really what you need to be able to do is start a conversation with someone about their goals and this usually leads to a very interesting discussion in my opinion so here's how i like to start that do you have a list of goals that you're working on right now what do you want to accomplish in the next two years how have your goals changed in the last year what do you hope to have achieved by the time you retire do you usually achieve the goals that you set what are some goals that you've already achieved okay maybe you are a business person and you go to conferences or work meetings and you need to be able to discuss topics there so it's really important that you can start a conversation and you can reach the result that you're trying to reach for your business purposes right you're there for a reason so how can we be very direct but very polite at the same time here's some ways that i like to strike up work conversations in a more professional setting we might say something like we haven't been introduced yet i'm chris or if we're at a conference we might say hey what did you think of the second speaker i thought he was great or we might say i really enjoyed that workshop what did you think one of the best times of the year is when we have holidays and there are special ways that we might start a conversation about holidays even if we don't know very much about a holiday and it's not a holiday that we ourselves celebrate so it's a cultural topic that we should know how to speak about what's the biggest holiday that you celebrate do you wish there were more holidays or fewer holidays if you could get rid of one holiday which holiday would that be what types of food are traditionally served during big holidays if you could create a new holiday what would it be in honor of what would you celebrate another very cultural topic to speak about is books you can start a conversation about your favorite books or about different genres of books and you can understand if the person who you're speaking with is interested in that or not so here's how i like to talk about books what was the last book you read do you prefer physical books do you prefer physical books or e-books what's the longest book you've ever read what's your favorite book what was the last book you read do you prefer physical books or e-books what's the longest book you've ever read what's your favorite book which genres of books do you enjoy reading do you go to the library which books have influenced you the most okay the next topic maybe you don't speak about so much in your language but english speakers love to talk about it we love to talk about the weather and seasons we might say wow this is such a hot summer and we might say oh it's such a cold winter and there are different ways that we might start a conversation using these very simple topics in fact these topics can be used to start a bigger conversation they're very light and they're something that we might call small talk unimportant things just to get the conversation started what's your favorite season what do you like doing in the spring do you prefer summer or winter sports is there a certain period of the year when you usually take your holidays do you usually take vacations during a certain period of the year what's the most refreshing thing for you to do on a summer what's the most refreshing thing for you to do on a hot summer day is it better to live in a place where there are four seasons or where one season takes up most of the year and now i want to show you just a few more questions that you might be able to use to start a conversation are you working on anything interesting at the moment what are your plans this weekend have you done anything unusual recently how did you get started in your career what's the strangest place you've ever visited what has been the best part of your day so far today what's the funniest video you've seen recently are you a dog person or a cat person what's your favorite place in the world what's your dream job what's the most beautiful place you've ever been if your mind were an island what would it look like if you could create a new flavor of ice cream which one would you create if you were a king or a queen what would your throne look like what would you do if you were invisible if you could time travel which time period would you visit what is your guilty pleasure a guilty pleasure is something that you like but you don't want other people to know that you like it how is success measured what's something that really annoys you but doesn't bother most other people how much time do you spend on the internet when do you usually go to sleep what's the strangest dream you've ever had if you had intro music which song would it be thank you so much for watching this video and i hope that this video helped you understand how you can start a conversation with someone in english in the future don't forget that if you want to have conversation practice 24 7 unlimited lessons with unlimited speaking partners then come over to our website and join our english everyday program where right now we have 30 lessons every day so no matter what time you join there's a lesson and you can join and you can practice speaking thanks for watching make sure you press like press subscribe and leave a comment down below to let me know that you like this style of video i will see you in the next one have a wonderful day bye bye

Channel: English With Kris Amerikos

Views: 21,788

Keywords: learn English, study English, speak English, English conversation, vocabulary, Kris Amerikos, Online English, English lesson, How to speak English

Id: M74PKrrdEpM

Length: 30min 2sec (1802 seconds)

Published: Sun May 16 2021