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Break the ice: how to start a conversation | English from movies
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Select a line to hear it again. Tap any word to see what it means. Underlined words are the key words of this video.
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Tutor Hi. So ice.
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Tutor . ?
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Tutor I'm to break it.
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Tutor The ice? Theo, that's my
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Tutor .
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Tutor say let's start .
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Tutor break the ice.
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Tutor 1. break the ice. It's , for the .
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Tutor You , get the .
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Tutor 2. Get the . It's , for you the .
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Tutor I'm to .
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Tutor 3. I'm to . It's , for .
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Tutor Let me break the ice. How was
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Tutor ?
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Tutor . .
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Tutor was . ?
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Tutor break the ice ? A or B.
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Tutor and for .
Choose your answer for each question, then open the answer to check it.
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Question 1
A new team is meeting for the first time and nobody is speaking. Which line suggests that someone should start talking?
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Question 2
You are leading a meeting and want to begin in a confident way. What do you say?
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Question 3
Which topic is a typical example of small talk?
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Question 4
Your coworker looks surprised by your friendly question. Which line explains that you were only being polite?
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Question 5
Which sentence is correct?
Quick answer
Break the ice: start a conversation
To start a friendly conversation, ask a question such as "How was your weekend?" or "Have you been here before?" "Maybe break the ice" suggests helping people feel comfortable enough to talk. "Get the ball rolling" means starting an activity. "I'm trying to make small talk" explains that you are trying to have a light conversation.
Key words in this video
Tap any word to see what it means. Underlined words are the key words of this video.
Each line explained
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Maybe break the ice. Friendly and casual
Use it when a group feels quiet or awkward and someone needs to start talking. It's a suggestion, so it works well with friends or coworkers. It isn't something you say to a stranger as your first words.
“Maybe break the ice.”
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Get the ball rolling. Confident, takes the lead
Use it to start a meeting, a project, or a group activity, usually when you are the one leading. It sounds less natural in a quiet one-to-one chat with someone you just met.
“You know, get the ball rolling.”
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I'm trying to make small talk. Honest and a bit shy
Use it when your easy, light question gets a strange or serious reaction and you want to explain that you were only being friendly. Small talk means easy chat about things like the weekend or the weather.
“I'm trying to make small talk.”
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How was your weekend? Warm and easy
Use it early in the week with coworkers, classmates, or neighbors. It invites the other person to say how their weekend went. Later in the week, try "How's your week going?"
“How was your weekend?”
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Have you been here before? Curious and polite
Use it at a cafe, a class, an event, or a new place where you and the other person are both visitors. It doesn't fit somewhere the person obviously goes every day, like their own office.
“Have you been here before?”
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Is this seat taken? Polite and neutral
Use it before you sit next to someone on a train, in a class, or at an event. It also opens a short chat in a natural way. Don't use it when the seats are clearly empty and nobody is nearby.
“Is this seat taken?”
Common mistakes
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Not quite
Let me break the ices.Better Let me break the ice.
In this idiom, "ice" is uncountable and always singular. Keep "the ice" every time.
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Not quite
I'm trying to do a small talk.Better I'm trying to make small talk.
English uses "make small talk," and "small talk" is uncountable, so it doesn't take "a." You can also say "chat" or "have a chat."
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Not quite
Let's get the ball roll.Better Let's get the ball rolling.
The fixed phrase uses the -ing form: "get the ball rolling." Keep "rolling" when you mean to start an activity.
དབྱངས་ཅན · མིས་བཟོས་རིག་ནུས་དགེ་རྒན
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