*You can download the full research report using the form below.

Small talks with Britons most often revolve around sports, with Italians it’s a safe bet to talk about travel, while Germans are more likely to discuss rising prices – Gradus Research survey

The topics that arise most often during small talk in European countries are price rise/inflation (34%), weather (31%), family and children, common events (29%), policy and its representatives (26%), friends & acquaintances, common events (24%). But how do the preferences vary from country to country? And what topics work best for establishing contact with strangers? Explains the survey conducted by Gradus Research among residents of the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Romania, France, and Ukraine.

“Yes” for weather and sports, “no” for politics and religion: does this formula still work?

UK residents have specific preferences when it comes to small talk topics: they willingly engage in discussions about sports activities or competitions. 36% of respondents indicated this topic as the one that arises most often in small talk. Family and children and common events (35%) are almost as popular in the UK. Topics of price rise/inflation and the weather also appear quite often (31% and 30%, respectively).

In contrast, inflation and rising prices are most frequently discussed in conversations with Germans (40%), Ukrainians (36%), and Poles (31%).

Ukrainians are also the only group for whom politics is one of the most popular topics: 32% of respondents touched on political topics in their small talk. Residents of Spain (29%) and Germany (28%) also tend to discuss politics quite often. In contrast, residents of other countries pay significantly less attention to this topic: the UK – only 8%, France – 10%, Romania – 14%, Poland – 17%, the Netherlands – 20%, Italy – 21%.

If you find yourself in casual conversation with an Italian, chances are you’ll talk about travel. A total of 39% of respondents from Italy mentioned this as their go-to conversation topic. When talking to Dutch residents, it's hard to avoid discussing the weather: 41% of Dutch respondents bring up weather conditions in their small talk.

Among Europeans, popular topics of conversation include career (job, place of work) (19%) and movies / soap operas (19%).

Germany, Poland, and France discuss fashion more often than others (23%, 20%, and 17%, respectively). Ukrainians, on the other hand, rarely choose this topic for small talk (4%).

Religion, policy and mental health aren’t good icebreakers

Whatever the country, it’s not a good idea to start the conversation with a topic around religion and ideology (45%). You better not touch the policy (40%) topic either.

Almost a quarter of respondents avoid discussing mental health (23%) and general health issues (20%).

So, what works best in small talk with Europeans?

When it comes to establishing contact with a stranger, the safest topic – weather – is most commonly used by Britons (42%), Dutch (41%), and Germans (31%). Italians remain loyal to the topic of travel (39%), which is also frequently discussed by Poles (37%) and French people (36%) when meeting strangers. Spaniards, for this purpose, prefer to discuss movies / soap operas (31%), Ukrainians tend to talk about humour & memes (28%), and Romanians engage in conversations about friends & acquaintances (30%).

*You can download the full research report using the form below.

The survey was conducted by Gradus Research using a self-administered questionnaire in a mobile application/through an online platform from September 24 to 27, 2024, among 1862 people aged 18-60 (United Kingdom – 107; Spain – 108; Italy – 106; Netherlands – 106; Germany – 105; Poland – 108; Romania – 111; France – 111; Ukraine – 1,000 people).