- Hi there.
I'm your English coach, Christina,
and welcome to Speak English with Christina,
where you'll learn American culture
and business know-how to become confident in English.
Weekends are a terrific topic for small talk.
Americans may ask you about your weekend plans
starting from Thursday and even as early as Wednesday.
Maybe you've already heard questions like,
what are you doing this weekend?
What do you have going on this weekend?
Or, do you have any big plans for the weekend?
And when you return to work or school on Monday,
what is the most common question that you'll hear?
How was your weekend?
Weekends are a great subject for making small talk,
especially if you did something fun over the weekend
and wanna share.
However, if you didn't do anything special over the weekend,
this question may make you feel a little like you don't have
anything to say, like you're gonna kill the conversation.
Don't worry, I feel you.
In this episode, you'll learn some responses
for when people ask, how was your weekend,
when you actually did something.
And then, in the second half of the episode,
you'll learn how to respond in a friendly way
without killing the conversation,
even if you didn't do anything at all over the weekend.
Let's go.
(upbeat rock music)
Talking about the upcoming weekend or the weekend
that's just passed is a fantastic small talk subject.
Who doesn't love their weekends?
And there are a ton of other fun small talk ideas
that I'd love to share with you, too.
That's why I have a new course available,
designed to help you master social situations
and everyday conversations in your professional life.
It teaches you how to socialize with confidence
and build up those important personal
and professional relationships, get techniques
to make you a good conversationalist,
as well as understand cultural differences
on a deeper level.
If you want interesting conversations
without feeling awkward
and to make real connections in business,
there's a link in the show notes, below the video,
with more information about the course.
(upbeat music)
When Wednesday or Thursday rolls around,
your colleagues may ask, do you have any plans this weekend,
or a similar question.
A good format is to respond with
what you're gonna do and because.
Your plans may be anything from seeing a movie,
going out of town, even reading a new book.
For example, you could say,
yeah I'm gonna go see this new "Star Trek" movie,
and then, describe the activity with because,
like, yeah, I'm gonna go see the new "Star Trek" movie
because I'm a big fan.
Star Trek fans, you'll know what that thing is.
And if you don't know, look it up.
Here's another example.
Do you have any plans this weekend?
Yeah, I'm gonna bake a cake
because it's my best friend's birthday
and she loves chocolate
and I thought it'd be a nice surprise.
(upbeat music)
It's Monday morning
and you can expect about five people at work
to all ask you, what'd you do over the weekend?
Did you have a good weekend?
How was your weekend?
It's okay.
You're feeling pretty good about this question today
because you did stuff over the weekend.
Again, it's best to respond with an activity
that you did over the weekend and something about it.
This could be a reason why you did the activity
or if you enjoyed it.
For example, how was your weekend?
It was good.
I saw the new "Star Trek" movie.
I dressed up as my favorite character
and everything, but the movie itself
wasn't so good and I feel asleep.
But I don't think I was the only one.
Or, how was your weekend?
It was great.
I went shopping with my sister and I picked up a new dress,
and it fits like a glove.
And fits like a glove, it's an expression
in English that means something fits very well.
(upbeat music)
Or if you wanna be a bit funny,
I took a flight to London Friday evening
and had dinner with the Prince Harry and Meghan.
And yes, I saw their baby and he's even cuter in person.
They offered to fly me to Pamplona
for the running of the bulls.
Unfortunately, I had to decline the invitation
because I had already committed
to the opera with Ryan Reynolds.
(upbeat music)
Anyway, how was your weekend?
Now, that is a very bad British accent.
My British friends, I do apologize.
I love your accent.
I just don't do it very well.
Uh oh.
It's a Monday morning
and does it seem like twice as many people
are asking you, how was your weekend?
What did you do this weekend?
Oh, did you have fun this weekend?
Did you have a good weekend?
Ah, yes, you're sure at least 10 people have asked you,
but you didn't do anything over the weekend,
so now, you feel like a lazy, boring person.
Don't worry, you're still your charming self
and you can still respond in a friendly, interesting way,
even though you didn't do anything over the weekend.
But first, here's a tip.
It's best not to respond with, I stayed home.
Or, I didn't do anything.
Or simply, nothing.
No, if you'd like to engage in friendly small talk,
we'll need a more personable response.
The key here is to show enthusiasm when making small talk,
even if you didn't do anything special over the weekend.
So let's learn some terrific responses,
so you can respond in a fun way,
even if you didn't have any fun over the weekend.
(upbeat music)
Let's say all you did over the weekend
was hang around the house in your pajamas and sleep.
What might sound boring to you
may sound like a dream to someone else.
For example, how was your weekend?
Oh, it was good.
I stayed home and caught up on my beauty sleep.
I've been so busy lately.
It was good to finally have some me-time
and get my beauty sleep.
As you may have guessed,
me-time is time for me or you, rather.
It's basically time for yourself,
to rest, relax, and refresh your energy.
And beauty sleep means restful sleep
that gives you a more youthful appearance
or it sounds like something worth doing
over the weekend, don't you agree?
(upbeat music)
Maybe you cleaned all weekend.
Well, that isn't nothing.
It's something.
Again, other people may wish that they had the luxury
to have the time to clean their house all weekend,
instead of letting everything pile up
because they don't have time to clean.
So for example, how was your weekend?
Yeah, it was okay.
I cleaned my apartment from top to bottom.
I've been traveling a lot for work
and I just haven't had time to keep it tidy.
(upbeat music)
Even though you didn't do anything over the weekend,
perhaps you had an interesting dream.
You could say, my weekend was okay.
I didn't do much, but I had this strange dream.
I dreamt that I was chimpanzee on a rollercoaster.
I mean, what about you?
Do you remember any weird dreams lately?
Are you seeing a pattern here?
Small talk doesn't have to be mind-blowing.
No, friendly conversation can be made about anything,
even a strange dream about a chimpanzee on a rollercoaster.
Who cares?
So to recap, if you feel like
you didn't do anything over the weekend
and you still wanna have
a friendly conversation, don't despair.
As long as you're enthusiastic
and provide a detail or two,
you can still participate in small talk.
And remember, what may seem boring to you,
such as sleeping or cleaning,
could be a dream come true for your colleague,
so feel free to share.
(upbeat music)
Now, what about you?
What do you say when people ask you about your weekend?
And what do you say for those weekends
where you didn't do anything?
Share your tips
and your answers with other
English students in the comments.
And if you've been a student
of American English for years now
and you still feel awkward making small talk,
check out my new course designed
to help you master social situations
and everyday conversations in your professional life.
The link for more information is below in the show notes.
And thank you so much for learning
with Speak English with Christina
and I'll see you next time.