Small Talk in Business English
For many professionals in Spain, small talk in Business English feels unnecessary at best — and uncomfortable at worst.
You want to get to the point.
You want to talk business.
You don’t want to waste time talking about the weather!
And yet, in international business environments, small talk is not optional. It plays a quiet but powerful role in building trust, managing relationships, and influencing outcomes.
In this article, we’ll explore why small talk matters in Business English, why it often feels unnatural for Spanish professionals, and how learning to handle it confidently can make a real difference in your professional life.
Why Small Talk Is So Important in International Business
In many English-speaking business cultures, small talk serves a clear and practical purpose: relationship-building before task execution.
Small talk often takes place before meetings formally begin, at the start of calls, or in the first moments of face-to-face interactions. Rather than being wasted time, these exchanges help create a more comfortable and cooperative atmosphere. It reduces tension and signals openness, making professional interactions feel less transactional. When people feel at ease, discussions tend to flow more smoothly and decisions are often reached more easily. Skipping this stage entirely can unintentionally send the wrong message — you could seem cold or disinterested. Even when your English is accurate and fluent, going straight to business can make you appear impatient, or overly aggressive.
In international contexts especially, small talk acts as a bridge between cultures. It allows professionals to establish a basic human connection before moving on to more complex or sensitive topics.
Why Small Talk Feels Difficult for Spanish Professionals
For many Spanish professionals, small talk can feel unnecessary. There are three main reasons.
1. It Feels Fake or Superficial
In Spanish business culture, relationships often develop over time, through shared experiences. In contrast, small talk in English can feel artificial — like you’re saying things you don’t really mean. But in English-speaking cultures, small talk isn’t about deep meaning. It’s about creating comfort between people who have just met.
2. You’re Not Sure What’s “Appropriate”
Many professionals worry about saying too much, choosing the wrong topic, or sounding awkward. Without clear guidelines, silence can feel like the safest option — even if it creates discomfort.
3. You’ve Never Been Taught How to Do It
Small talk is rarely taught explicitly. Traditional English education tends to prioritise grammar, vocabulary, and formal skills such as presentations or writing. Very few courses teach how to start a conversation naturally, how to keep it going and how to exit politely! As a result, professionals may have a high level of English but still feel unprepared for informal workplace conversations. This gap often becomes more noticeable as careers progress and communication expectations increase.
What Counts as Small Talk in Business English?
Effective small talk is neutral, light, and shared — ie. easy for both sides to engage with. Topics usually relate to shared experiences, such as travel, work routines, the city you’re in, or general industry events. These subjects are safe because they don’t require personal disclosure and allow the conversation to remain professional.
Common safe topics include:
- Travel (especially business travel)
- Workload and projects (high-level, not detailed)
- The city you’re in
- Events, conferences, or industry trends
- The weekend (without too much detail)
These topics invite short, comfortable exchanges. For example:
- “Is this your first time working with our Madrid office?”
- “How’s your week going so far?”
- “Did get the flights you wanted, or are you staying another night?”
- “How are you finding our city?”
The goal is not to impress or entertain, but to create a brief moment of connection. Well-chosen questions invite short, relaxed responses and help establish a friendly tone. When used naturally, small talk helps conversations feel balanced and collaborative rather than purely functional.
The Real Skill: Listening and Responding Naturally
Small talk isn’t about having something interesting to say. It’s about listening and responding in a natural way. Conversations often break down not because of lack of vocabulary, but because responses are too short or closed.
For example:
— “How was your trip?”
— “Very good.”
Conversation over.
A more natural response might be:
— “Very good, thanks — the flight was late, but at least it was quiet.”
This response gives the other person something to react to, and keeps the exchange moving. That ability to add one small detail is a key Business English skill. This doesn’t require advanced English — just awareness of how conversation flows. Learning to do this consistently becomes much easier with guided practice.
How Small Talk Impacts Meetings and Negotiations
Small talk doesn’t stop once the meeting starts. It often appears while people are waiting for others to join, in short breaks, or in the final moments before everyone disconnects/leaves. These informal moments may seem insignificant, but they play an important role in setting the tone for the interaction.
Professionals who handle small talk confidently often find that meetings feel more cooperative and less tense. When a human connection is established early on, participants are generally more open, more willing to share information, and less defensive in discussions. This can be especially valuable in negotiations, where trust and flexibility are just as important as facts and figures.
In international teams, where colleagues may rarely meet in person, these brief exchanges become even more important. Small talk helps replace the relationship-building that would normally happen naturally in a shared office environment. Over time, this contributes to smoother collaboration, fewer misunderstandings, and stronger professional relationships.
Common Small Talk Mistakes to Avoid
1. Turning It Into a Presentation
Small talk should be short. Over-explaining or giving long answers can feel uncomfortable for the other person. Small talk works best when it stays brief and balanced, with both sides contributing.
2. Staying Silent to Avoid Mistakes
Silence is usually more uncomfortable than imperfect English.
3. Being Too Personal Too Quickly
Moving into personal or sensitive topics — such as politics, salary, or personal problems — can create discomfort, especially when relationships are still new. Understanding these boundaries is part of communicating professionally in English.
Why Small Talk Is a Business Skill — Not a Personality Trait
Many professionals assume that being “bad at small talk” is simply part of who they are. They will say they are “task-focussed” or, “that’s not my personality.” In reality, small talk in Business English follows predictable patterns and conventions. Once these are understood, the skill becomes manageable rather than intimidating. Small talk in Business English is learned behaviour, not natural talent.
This is one of the areas where Business English classes add enormous value, because professionals can practise safely, get feedback, and understand what actually works in international contexts.
With the right phrases, structures, and practice, small talk stops feeling spontaneous and starts feeling strategic. This is why targeted Business English training is so effective: it turns something vague and uncomfortable into a clear, repeatable professional skill.
How Business English Classes Help Professionals Master Small Talk
In targeted Business English training, professionals:
- Practise real workplace scenarios
- Learn how to open, continue, and close conversations
- Build a personal “toolkit” of natural phrases
- Gain confidence through repetition and feedback
Instead of guessing, they know:
- What to say
- When to say it
- How to adapt it to different situations
The result is not just better English — it’s better professional relationships.
Final Thoughts
Small talk may appear unimportant, but in international business it often influences how people perceive you long before any real “business” begins. It affects how meetings start, how comfortable discussions feel, and how willing others are to engage with your ideas. In many cases, it quietly shapes the success of professional interactions.
For Spanish professionals working in English, mastering small talk isn’t about becoming someone you’re not. It’s about communicating in a way that fits the global business environment. Like any professional skill, this confidence doesn’t come from theory alone. It develops fastest with guidance, practice, and feedback. That’s why targeted Business English training can make such a noticeable difference, helping professionals navigate not just meetings and emails, but the human side of business communication as well.
In the next article in this series, we’ll look at another high-impact area: presenting ideas and speaking with confidence in Business English.
Also in this series
- Mastering Meetings & Negotiations in Business English
- Sounding Professional (Not Rude) in Business English Emails
- Business English They Don’t Teach You in Class
Further reading on this topic
- Global Business Speaks English — Harvard Business Review
- Academic Study: When Language Matters — Grant Packard, Yang Li, Jonah Berger