In most parts of the U.S.A., small talk is a common thing that Americans do when they are interacting with a stranger. In other parts of the world, this does not come naturally because it is not in the culture to do so. This article below will be discussing some common examples of how to deal with the small talk culture in the United States of America.
The list will be constantly updated.
Table of Contents
When a stranger comes into the elevator
When a stranger comes into the elevator and you are near the only spot to press the floors, you would ask that person “what floor?” In some countries, people leave it up to the other person to press the button, but it usually would be socially inappropriate to not ask the other person which level they are going to in the U.S.A.
After leaving a conversation with anyone in the U.S.A.
After you leave a conversation with someone in the U.S.A., the last thing you would say to that person would usually be “Have a good one” (which just means have a good day), “Have a good day,” “Have a goodnight,” “Take care” or something similar.
When someone says “How are you doing?”
When someone says “How are you doing?” in the U.S.A., it usually just means “Hello” and you just need to say something similar to “Great” or “Pretty good” and then just add “How are you?” back to them. Sometimes people will say “could be better” but it is not as common. You aren’t really supposed to give a long response because most of the time it is not actually a question but a simple hello.
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