5 min freeJust talkingJust talking, rehearsed out loud
3
people run this conversation
6 min
The shortest conversation
No task, no deadline, nothing to win. A flatmate, an online friend, a traveller at the hostel, and the conversation that only continues if you add to it.
B1 · workingB2 · confidentC1 · advanced
Who you will be talking to
Just talking, with 3 of these 3.
In whichever order helps. The first 5 minutes with a free partner cost nothing, so you can talk to two of them before you choose.
5 min freeJust talking
5 min freeJust talking
5 min freeJust talkingWhat actually happens
Five things people say before they start.
One of them is usually the real reason. What sits underneath it is what actually gets scored.
/01
“They asked how your day was and you said fine.”
Saying more than “good”
How was your day is not a question to answer, it is an invitation. A detail they can pick up is what keeps the evening going.
/02
“You liked it a lot and could not say what about it.”
Explaining why you like something
A film, a game, a place. Saying that you like it takes three words; saying why is most of what friends actually talk about.
/03
“You laughed along and still do not know what it meant.”
Slang nobody explains
London, Australian, West Coast. Friends talk the way they talk, and asking what a word means is normal and costs nothing.
/04
“You have been meaning to say something for a month.”
Raising something awkward
The washing-up, the bills, the noise. Saying it clearly to someone you like and live with is a different skill from small talk, and the same person runs both.
Not the situation you need?
Bring the real thing: the job description, the date on the letter, the words the school used. Everyone who runs just talking will work from what you actually walked in with.
How a first conversation worksWhat it costs
One price a minute, whoever you talk to.
A harder conversation simply runs longer. The shortest way to rehearse just talking is 6 min.
You pay for the seconds you talk, and the minutes come off a balance you already hold. Nothing renews, and you are never sent a bill. Plans and refunds.
B1 · working
9 min
is how long a conversation at this difficulty runs
A flatmate in fast London English, or a traveller in broad Australian.
- Minutes of talking in total
- 54
- What that costs here
- $24
- The same minutes with a tutor
- $300
- You do not spend
- −$276
At $50 an hour, rounded up to the 60-minute booking nobody will sell you less than.
Your first 5 minutes
What 5 free minutes are for.
01
Start with Kai
The gentlest person here. Tell him what you are into and, when he asks why, give a real answer.
The terms, in full
- Free
- 5 minutes
- No card asked for
02
Write a line about yourself
Before you start, add something true: what you did today, what you are into. The conversation uses it.
Paid for out of your free minutes
- Saying more than “good”
- Explaining why you like something
- Slang nobody explains
- Raising something awkward
Questions
What people ask before they start.
Nearby
What people open next.
The rest of Social first, then everything else at the same difficulty.
All the situationsA friend, on a call
B1 · workingB2 · confidentC1 · advancedThey ask how your week was and then wait. The four seconds after the question are the whole exercise.3 peoplefrom 6 minA stranger at a party
B2 · confidentC1 · advancedMusic, an accent, no syllabus, and the hardest part is leaving the conversation without ending it badly.1 personfrom 5 minMeeting someone newB2 · confidentC1 · advancedA friend of a friend, a café, and nobody obliged to keep it going. The first two minutes are the whole thing.1 personfrom 8 min
B1 · workingB2 · confidentC1 · advancedThey ask how your week was and then wait. The four seconds after the question are the whole exercise.3 peoplefrom 6 minA stranger at a partyB2 · confidentC1 · advancedMusic, an accent, no syllabus, and the hardest part is leaving the conversation without ending it badly.1 personfrom 5 minMeeting someone newB2 · confidentC1 · advancedA friend of a friend, a café, and nobody obliged to keep it going. The first two minutes are the whole thing.1 personfrom 8 min