Making conversation in English

So, you’ve said ‘hi’ and you’ve told you new potential friend your name and asked them theirs. Now what?

Usually people start by asking questions like:

“What do you do (for a living)?”
“What are you studying (in college)?”
“Where do you live?”

You can keep things very light. I know in some countries it’s okay to ask someone how much money they make, but in the states, it’s not polite. In fact, rarely do people tell others how much they make even if they are pretty good friends.

Here’s a role play you can do now:

Me – “Hi, How are you?”
You –
Me – “I’m good, thanks! What’s your name?”
You –
Me – “My name is Yvonne. What do you do for a living?”
You –
Me – “Wow, sounds fascinating! I’m a teacher. I really love my job. Where do you live?”
You –
Me – “Me? I live in South Carolina. What kinds of things do you like to do in your freetime?”
You –
Me – “I love to go hiking and swimming and pretty much anything that you do outdoors. I’ve got to run now. It was nice meeting you.”
You –
Me – “Good-bye!”