English best Small Talk for a common man

ESL- Social English: Introductions, Greetings, Health, Small Talk

English, like every other language, has fixed expressions which are used on particular social occasions – for example when people meet and greet, leave each other, try to get other people's attention, make small talk, discuss personal well-being, go on a journey or holiday, send good wishes and invitations, sit down to meals and so on. This article deals with some of the most basic expressions of social English and is therefore particularly suitable for ESL beginners.Introductions
Common ways of introducing strangers to each other are:

• Diana, do you know Sharon? Sharon, this is my friend Diana.
• Leila, I don't think you've met Jack.
• Can / May I introduce Jack Black?
• I don't think you two know each other, do you?

When people are introduced, they usually say 'How do you do?' (formal), 'Hello' (neutral), or 'Hi' (informal). 'How do you do?' does not mean the same as 'How are you?' and is therefore not a question. The reply to it is the same – 'How do you do?' Another possible response is 'Glad / Pleased to meet you.'
Greetings
English greetings can be formal and less formal.
When meeting people (more formal):

• Good morning / Good afternoon / Good evening.

The word 'good' can be left out.
When meeting people (neutral):

• Hello.

When meeting people (informal):

• Hi.
• What's up? (very informal)

When leaving people:

• Goodbye. (formal) / Goodnight. / Bye. (informal) / Bye-Bye. (often used to and by children) / Cheers. (informal – used by the British only) / Take care. (informal) / See you. (informal) / Later(s). (informal) / See you later / tomorrow / next week / next month etc. / It was nice to meet you / meeting you.

Please remember that the greeting 'Good day' is very unusual, and 'Goodnight' should be used only when leaving people, not when meeting them.
Click here for more information on greetings and goodbyes in the English language.
Asking about Well-Being and Health
When we meet people we know, we usually ask them about their general situation or health.

• How are you? / How are you doing?
• How are things? / How's things? (informal)
• How's it going? (informal)
• Are you feeling well? / Are you not feeling well? / Are you feeling alright? / Are you feeling any better today? (more specific inquiries about someone's health)

Formal answer is as follows:

• Very well, thank you.

Informal answers:

• Fine / Great, thanks. / OK. / All right. / So-so. / Not too bad. / It could be worse. / Mustn't grumble.

If our friends or acquaintances are not feeling well, we can say the following:

• I hope you feel better soon! / Get well soon!

Special Greetings
Greetings for special occasions are the following:

• Happy birthday!

'Many happy returns!' is a bit old-fashioned.

• Happy / Merry Christmas! (used to wish people a pleasant Christmas period)
• Happy New Year! (people say it when they celebrate the start of a new year)
• Happy Easter! (Easter is a Christian religious holiday)
• Happy Ramadan! (Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim year, when Muslims fast during daylight hours)
• Happy anniversary!
• Congratulations on your exam results! / Congratulations on your new job!

Small Talk
The ability to make small talk helps people to start and continue conversations. Four very handy topics suitable for small talk are the weather (British people often begin polite conversations by talking about the weather), surroundings, transport and appearance.
Weather:

• A: Nice day, isn't it? B: Lovely.
• Isn't it a lovely day!
• Can you believe all this rain we've been getting?
• Isn't it gorgeous out today?

Surroundings:

• Don't you just love this place! / Isn't it nice here!
• What are you doing around here?

Transport:

• Did you get here OK?
• Did you come here by car / by taxi / by bus?

Appearance:

• You look great! Did you get a haircut?
• That dress looks really good on you.