ECSTRA/Small Talk

Typical situations and topics to be focussed on:

1. situations where small talk is common (e.g. in stores, waiting rooms, waiting lines, on public transportation means)

2. situations where small talk is not common, but where people remain silent (e.g. in elevators, in public toilets)

3. common small talk topics if you're not talking to a close friend or a relative, e.g.

3.1. sports

3.2. hobbies

3.3. traveling experiences

3.4. American entertainment industry

3.5. the weather

3.6. recent scientific news

3.7. recent political events

3.8. general praise of domestic politics/politicians

3.9. general complaint about politics/politicians

3.10. a foreign interlocutor's language competence

4. length of small talk ...

4.1. ... expected in private conversation before you say what you really want

4.2. ... expected in business conversation before you say what you really want

(Please remember our guidelines.)

AT: Austria

Vienna, Lower Austria (ECSTRA-Q)

1. in waiting rooms and waiting lines only if people are bored

2. in small rooms in order to compensate the lack of distance

3. the weather, news, politics, gossip, trips

4.1 depends on situation, in general rather brief; 4.2 depends on business matter, in general rather brief

other Austrian informands (ECSTRA-Q)

1. waiting room, trains, lunch with colleagues, cocktail party, buffet

2. underground, supermarket cashier, lifts, toilets

3. weather, complaints about politicians, food, culture, sport

4.1 3-5 minutes, 4.2 5 minutes

BE: Belgium

Brussels (ECSTRA-Q)

1 + 2: small talk is not very common

3.5, 7, 10, no personal questions

4.1 ca. 5 min. (up to 10 min.)

CH: Switzerland

Lausanne (French-speaking area) (ECSTRA-Q)

1. with neighbours (e.g. street elevators, stairs, small shops; more common in small cities than in large cities wher on e does not say hello to neighbours

2. in most situations

3. weather, events or conditions linked with neighbourhood

4.1 no more than a few minutes, 4.2 very short

CZ: Czech Republic

Bohemia (ECSTRA-Q)

1. elevator, public transport

2. waiting room (doctor)

3. your job, the weather

4.1 very often no small talk, but direct communication; 4.2 small talk for about 3-5 minutes

DE: Germany

Bremen (ECSTRA-Q)

1. on the telephone

2. lifts, toilets

3.1, 2, 3,5

4.1 varies, a few minutes, 4.2 brief, a few minutes

south (ECSTRA-Q)

1. among strangers: common in waiting rooms (but nowhere required)

2. among people you know: common and required in waiting rooms, public transport, waiting lines

3. complaints about politicians, the weather

4.1 1-3 minutes, 4.2 no small talk

Saxony (ECSTRA-Q)

1. only among people you know

2. -

3. the weather, family

4.1 ca. 3 min., 4.2 no small talk

DK: Denmark

...

EE: Estonia

...

ES: Spain

Andalusia (ECSTRA-Q)

1. waiting lines, waiting rooms, elevators, bus-stops

2. toilet, public transportation means

3.5

4.1 fairly short, 4.2 fairly long

Castilia y León (ECSTRA-Q)

1. public transportation means, stores, waiting rooms, waiting lines, elevator, public toilets (especially women in their middle ages)

2. almost everywhere very early in the morning

3. your won life, hobbies, preferences in life (likes and dislikes), travelling experiences, political events, sports

4.1 depends on individuals, but usually quite brief, 4.2 can last longer (lunch together, some jokes in between)

FI: Finland

West Finland (Swedish-speaking area) (ECSTRA-Q)

1. coffee-break, informal meetings (e.g. birthday parties), when you meet an acquaintance

2. in serious situations (funerals, church)

3. weather, health (your own or in general), news, TV, hobbies

4.1 small talks not used as an introduction, 4.2 not common if you know the contact person well

Finnish-speaking area' (ECSTRA-Q)

1. at the start of meetings, cocktail parties, other situations where everyone has been invited or most people know at least someone / have previous connection with them

2. it is definitely unusual to start small talk with strangers anywhere (stores, waiting rooms, waiting lines, buses etc.)

3. weather, morning newspaper, television headlines, recent political events, the situation where people meet for small talk

4.1 very little, less than a minutes, sometimes not all; 4.2 not at all -- Finns usually go straight into the matter! It's a problem in international work to unlearn this habit.

FR: France

Paris (ECSTRA-Q)

1. small talk is not very common in public situations; maybe used in waiting lines and at bus-stops

2. in a lot of situations incl. elevators and toilets, libraries, hospitals

3. weather, politics, an environmental catastrophe, complaints, personal interests, national customs, relations, family, cinema

4. depends on individuals, but the French generally don't address the real topic directly, but insert a few minutes of small talk (more in business conversations, less in private conversations)

HR: Croatia

...

HU: Hungary

1. public transportation means, waiting rooms (almost required), waiting lines, elevators, toilet, bank

2. business conversations

3. 5, 8, 9 + in waiting lines the reason why people have to wait or complaints that people have to wait

4.1 1-2 minutes, 4.2 no small talk

(all info: ECSTRA-Q)

IE: Ireland

1. public transport, waiting rooms, queues, pub

2. toilets (but the longer the wait, the more likelihood there is a conversation will start

3.1, 2, 3, 4 (among teenagers), 5, 7, 9, traffic, planned holidays, funerals (among elderly people)

4.1 Irish people never say what they really want, 4.2 less than 5 minutes

(all info ECSTRA-Q)

IT: Italy

Lombardy (ECSTRA-Q)

1. public transportation means (predominantly when journey is long, not so much on the bus or the underground), waiting rooms, elevators, stores
2. toilet, waiting lines, church, cemetery
3. 5, 7, sport news, general complaint about general problems, recent events, common experiences, everyday life
4.1 not too long, just a couple of sentences in order to find a common ground; 4.2 not too long, people just need to make a formal introduction (however, it may depend on what the person is going say: if they know that the others won't agree with them they'll do small talk for quite some time as a conscious strategy to obtain what they want)

Sicily (ECSTRA-Q)

1. in a traffic jam, bars, in the street
2. church
3. family, children, love, house, work
4.1 a few minutes, 4.2 no small talk

LT: Lithuania

1. not as much as in Germany

2. funerals (no speaking at all), on the bus, in stores (in former times you were not even asked if you needed any help)

3. bad economic situation, politics

4.1 with friends and people you know longer period of small talk, otherwise rather directly; 4.2 very directly

(all info ECSTRA-Q)

LU: Luxemburg

1. with strangers only at parties

2. -

3. weather, leisure time, food and especially work

4.1 if at all, then only brief; 4.2 3-4 sentences

(all info ECSTRA-Q)

LV: Latvia

...

MT: Malta

1. waiting rooms, stores

2. elevators

3. football, weather

4.1 few minutes, 4.2 very little

(all info ECSTRA-Q)

NL: Netherlands

...

NO: Norway

...

PL: Poland

informands for which there is no regional information (ECSTRA-Q)

1. public transport, waiting rooms, elevators

2. toilets

3.1, 5

4.1 very brief, 4.2 brief

Silesia (ECSTRA-Q)

1. waiting lines

2. church

3.1, 5, 9

4.1 3 minutes, 4.2 10 minutes

PT: Portugal

Alentejo (ECSTRA-Q)

1. waiting rooms, toilet (for one informand), public transportation, stores

2. elevators, libraries, church, hospital, toilet (for one informand), waiting lines in government buildings

3. weather (most frequent topic), TV shows, political events, sports, complaint about politicians

4.1 a few minutes, 4.2 right to the point, or small talk if we take the business partner out for lunch or dinner

SE: Sweden

1. Don't do small talk with strangers if there is non relationship with them and you never going to see them again.

2. Only say hi to people when you enter the lift, at least if it is the lift at home.

3. work, weather

4.1 just a few sentences, 4.2 just a few sentences

(all info ECSTRA-Q)

SI: Slovenia

...

SK: Slovakia

...

UK: United Kingdom

Glasgow (ECSTRA-Q)

1. waitings rooms, public transportation means

2. lifts, waitings rooms of lawyers, toilets (if not good friends)

3. the weather (most frequent topic), if something has just happened (e.g. if the train was late), TV programmes, sport, travel problems, the Royal Family

4. one informand gives the following info: 4.1 less than 5 minutes, 4.2 between 5 and 10 minutes; another informand gives the following info: 4.1 very variable, but can be long time, 4.2 very variable, but generally less than 5 minutes

Cambridgeshire (ECSTRA-Q)

1. shopping queues, bus queues, when you meet an elderly neighbour, in some public transport

2. lifts, toilets, the underground, churches

3. weather, recent political events (e.g. if there has been an election), sport, your personal situation, children

4.1 5-10 minutes, 4.2 2-3 minutes

Non-European Nations

Australia

3. weather, current affiars, sport, politics

China

length of small talk ...

... expected in business conversation before you say what you really want:

Small talk in business conversations in China is marked by several politeness strategies:

guan xin: take care for somebody

According to this principle the interlocutors will in a first-contact-situation ask for each other's well-being. But the expected answers leave no options for complaints or critical utterances, just positive remarks are intended. Furthermore there are requests for information about the other person's family situation (which can be very well compared with the English people's talk about the weather, like I was told by a Chinese fellow student).

qian gong xing: politeness rule that instructs you to be modest towards others

This rule demands of the speakers not to act out any form of self-presentation. One's positive features (looks, character, professional efforts, social status) must exclusively be highlighted by the other interlocutor, as modesty is considered as very polite.

In the same way one is expected to show respect to the opposite partner of the social interaction by emphasizing his remarkable features. This is part of the "giving face" process. If one interactional partner has given face to the other, he can be certain that he will also be given face by the latter.

Younger people or people of a lower status are usually expected to initiate the process of paying tribute to the older or higher status person (because the latter one clearly deserves more respect as he/she has already experienced and achieved more in his/her life).

Colombia

1. public transport, stores, public offices, supermarkets

2. elevators, toilet, waiting lines, the church

3. recent news in general, weather, things being in fashion

4.1 10-30 min.; 4.2 5-15 min.

Greece

1. queues, public transportation, stores, waiting rooms, almost everywhere

2. churches, elevators

3. complaints about politics, transportation, financial matters, crime etc., the weather, sport, the church

4.1 one informand: 1-2 minutes, one informand: 5 min to 1 hour (depends on degree of imposition); 4.2 5 minutes

Lebanon

1. almost everywhere

2. --

3. talking about one's private social life like how work is going, experiences and so on; any topic is possible without giving details

4.1 definitely longer than in Germany, ca. 10 min.; 4.2 around 5 min.

(all info ECSTRA-Q)