What are common phrases for maintaining engagement in Italian small talk

Common phrases for maintaining engagement in Italian small talk often include polite greetings, asking about well-being, commenting on the weather, showing interest in the other person’s life, and using conversational connectors to keep the dialogue flowing. Examples:

• Ciao, come stai? (Hi, how are you?)
• Cosa hai fatto di bello? (What have you done recently?)
• Che tempo fa oggi? (How’s the weather today?)
• Che ne pensi di…? (What do you think about…?)
• Davvero? Raccontami di più! (Really? Tell me more!)
• Allora, cosa mi dici di nuovo? (So, what’s new with you?)
• Capisco, è molto interessante. (I see, that’s very interesting.)
• Using fillers like allora, quindi, però to signal engagement and encourage continuation.

These phrases help express interest, keep the conversation active, and create a friendly atmosphere in Italian small talk contexts. ^{5, 6}

References

• Italian Phrasemes as Constructions: How to Understand and Use Them

• La fraseografia piemontese

• The doctrine of the mean. Conversation in courtesy manuals from early modernity to the present

• La fraseografia degli italiani regionali: da ieri a domani

• I segnali discorsivi “allora, quindi, però, ma” in apprendenti di italiano L2

• Strategie discorsive in spagnolo L1 ed L2 a confronto: un’indagine su corpora dialogici

• La fraseografia genovese e le più recenti innovazioni in GEPHRAS e GEPHRAS2

• Introduzione al volume speciale Fraseografia e metafraseografia delle varietà diatopiche.