Small talk in America serves a vital purpose: It breaks the ice with people we don’t know well, quickly establishes common ground, and paves the way for more meaningful conversation.

Yet many Americans struggle deeply with small talk. We want to come across friendly and likable, but struggle with what to say and what to do when we’ve exhausted the usual topics: weather, work, sports, etc.

Taking a cue from how countries around the globe approach small talk differently might give us some insight. Here’s how 6 cultures handle casual conversation with strangers.

Grace Jin Kim, a popular content creator and Korean language educator, says small talk or casual conversation between strangers is drastically different in Korean culture.

Where Americans will discuss safe, relatable topics like the weather or weekend plans and try to find common ground quickly, she says initial conversations in Korean are a bit of a vetting process.

“In Korea, the beginning feels a little different… People tend to ask things that help define the relationship first,” she says. Common early questions might include asking about the person’s age or whether they study or work.

That’s because Korean is a language that relies on honorifics and social hierarchy. How you speak depends heavily on who you’re speaking to.

“Don’t expect to get too comfortable too quickly,” she says, before you figure out what level of respect you need to show for your conversation partner and what kind of relationship you might form going forward.

The American takeaway: Turning on the charm can feel difficult because American small talk topics are often boring to start. While the Korean way may feel overly structured and formal to Americans who aren’t used to it, it actually paves the way for far more useful and meaningful conversation quicker by sussing out the basics first.

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If small talk in Korea is structured and formal, it’s much the opposite in Ireland. The Irish often treat conversation like an art form, even with people they don’t know well. Chit chat is slow, not rushed. Long........

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