(chatting)
Meeting new people can be scary.
Especially if you’re not comfortable speaking English!
Here are five simple steps to help you succeed.
1. Greet
This part’s easy! You can say, hello, or hi, or hey.
And then ask them, how’s it going?
“How’s it going” sounds more natural and laid-back than “How are you?”
Hey, my name’s Kelsi. How’s it going?
Hey, I’m Roger. Not too bad...
It looks like I need to break the ice.
2. Break the Ice
There are a few easy ways to break the ice.
If you’re at a party or other event, you can use this question:
How do you know the host?
So, how do you know Amanda?
Uhh, actually I don’t know her.
I don’t know anyone here.
Oh... Okay.
If the event you’re at doesn’t have a specific host, you could also ask:
What brought you here today?
So, what brought you here today?
To be honest, the free food.
There’s another great way to break the ice: compliments!
People love compliments, so this is a surefire way to make people like you more.
You can say:
I like your...! Where’d you get it from?
A cuter way to say this is: I love your...
Hey, I like your backpack! Where’d you get it from?
Oh, thanks! I got it in Germany. You can put all your important things in here.
3. Learn More
You can start off with simple questions to learn more about the person you’re talking with
and figure out more suitable conversation topics.
Hopefully, they’ll ask these questions back to you as well.
You can ask:
Where are you from?
Be careful not to say “Where are you come from?”
This is incorrect!
You should say “Where are you from?”
Roger, where are you from?
Hamburg.
Hamburger...?
Uh-uh. The city in Germany.
Oh, that Hamburg!
Depending on the situation, you could also ask:
Do you live nearby? Or, do you live in the neighborhood?
Do you live nearby?
Uh-huh, yeah. Right across the street from that burger joint.
Don’t ask “Where do you live?”
This is super creepy in English!
If you say it like this it might make people scared.
They might think, why do you want to know?
What do you want to do?
Where do you live?
Why? What do you want?
Another basic question to ask is:
What do you do? Or, what do you do for a living?
After they answer that, you can also ask:
How did you get into that?
What do you do?
I’m a chef.
Oh, how did you get into that?
I love food.
If you don’t want to talk about work, you could also ask:
What do you like to do for fun?
Eat.
4. Share
Sharing something you’ve heard about lately is also a great way to start a conversation.
You can say:
Did you hear about...?
Did you hear about that international food show that’s coming up?
Food? Wait, what? No. Tell me more.
Or, if you can’t think of anything to share, you can always:
Ask for Recommendations
Let them share things with you.
You can ask them:
Do you know any good (something) around here?
Do you know any good restaurants around here?
Yes! There (are) a lot of good places.
Like across the street, there’s this burger joint.
And right around the corner there’s this good hot pot place.
And if you take a couple blocks down, there’s…
Yeah. I got you.
5. Invite
If your conversation has gone well and you’d like to make friends with this new person,
the next best step is to make plans to meet again!
You can ask them:
Would you be interested in going ... sometime?
Would you be interested in going hiking sometime?
Nah. Don’t like hiking.
Then swimming?
Not a fan.
Biking?
Nah.
I guess we could just go out to eat.
Let's do it!
To be able to get in touch with them you’ll also need to...
Exchange Contact Information
You definitely need a way to get in touch with them!
If you miss this step, you’ll have lost your chance at actually becoming friends.
You might want to ask them:
Can I add you on Facebook?
Or another social media platform, like Instagram.
You could also ask them:
Can I have your phone number?
Can I add you on Instagram?
Yeah, sure. Here.
Here you go.
Next time you see someone you want to talk to,
but you’re scared you won’t know what to talk about, don’t worry!
Making friends in English is easier than you think!
See you next time, VoiceTubers!
That’s a good burger. Oh, man.