Episode 34 - How to Extend Your Conversations In English (So many Questions!)

This time we're thinking of ways to extend your conversations with colleagues or new friends past 'Hi, how are you?' There are lots of ways you can extend a conversation after 'Hi, how are you?' In the UK we love talking about the weather. You can find out lots of different ways to talk about the weather in Episode 9. We often ask people: What did you do last night? What did you do at the weekend? Even apparently boring answers to these questions can be great opportunities to learn more about people and their interests. Remember, if you want to have more conversations in English you have to have something to talk about, right? And this is where asking questions can be really important. 'I just stayed in and watched Netflix.' This is such a great answer! There are so many questions you can ask about TV shows and movies. If you find out you are both watching the same thing or have similar interests then that gives you something to ask about next time you see them. What did you watch? Was it fun? What's it about? Would you recommend it? Why? Do you have any other recommendations of things I should watch? Who were your favourite actors? Who were your favourite characters? What was your favourite storyline? Spoiler Alert! Just be careful, if you're both watching the same show to always check if they have watched the latest episode before talking about it. You don't want to spoil it for anyone! Easy Conversation Starters Are you reading/watching anything interesting at the moment? Asking for help is good. I want to take my girlfriend out, any good suggestions of where we could go? My parents are coming to town, I want to take them to dinner, have you been anywhere nice recently? If people tell you something personal, use that to extend the conversation. If you find out they have children for example you could ask: How many children do you have? How old are they? If you have children too then you can see what you have in common, maybe they are a similar age or are doing something similar to what your children were doing at that age. Are they going to after school clubs/classes? Do they play sports? My kid is learning the piano, it's hard to et them to practise though. Are yours learning any instruments? Any tips on how I can get them to practise more? If they went to the movies at the weekend you could ask: What did you watch? Did you like it? Would you recommend it? Is there anything else you'd like to see? Remember, you're looking for easy things to remember or things you have in common. You want to try and use these things to start a conversation next time you see them. I heard it was exam season, how's your daughter managing? I watched that show you mentioned, so good! Did you see the next episode? Additional Vocabulary 'takes a bit to warm up' - idiom - 'to warm up' we use this to mean getting comfortable with someone or becoming more talkative. We might say 'she takes a while to warm up' to talk about someone who is very shy. Or 'I need help warming up' for someone who maybe tends to have an alcoholic drink to feel more comfortable in a social situation. to stick with - idiom - something you continue doing over time reference points - things that we can easily connect to and understand winding down - idiom - relaxing or coming to an end 'What drew you to that topic' - idiom - 'drew you' makes you interested 'broke up with their girlfriend' - 'to break up' to stop dating or stop being together, used for the end of any romantic relationship play date - used to describe when parents decide to meet especially so that their children can play together