Small Talk Warming up

Ex. 1. Discuss the following questions.

1. What is the main purpose of small talk in business communication?

2. When do business people use small talk?

3. What themes do you think are adequate to start the conversation? What themes must be prohibited in business small talk?

Language input

Ex. 2. Learn the new words and word combinations. Consult the dictionary if you don’t know the meaning.

Weather	Kind of chilly this morning, isn’t it? What a beautiful morning. A bit windy, but beautiful. It’s never that hot at this time of the year. It’s been raining for weeks. Is this never going to end?
Weekend	How did you spend the weekend? Did you do anything special? How was your weekend?
Sports	A: Did you see the game last night? B: No, I missed it. Was it a good game?
Keeping the conversation going	Is this your first visit to Denmark? How long are you going to stay? What do you do, by the way? What line of business are you in? How are you enjoying the conference? Do you know many people here?

Ex. 3. Work with a partner.

a) Look at the sample conversation. Practice it with a partner.

A: Really? Does he lecture at Oxford?

B: No, he works for Warwick University.

A: Oh, what subject does he teach?

B: He teaches Business administration.

A: That’s interesting. Was he in business before?

B: Yes, he was a consultant with KPMG.

A: Was he? Why did he change?

B: It was very stressful. He wanted something quieter.

A: And does he like teaching?

B: Yes, he loves it.

b) Now take turns to start a conversation using one of the questions below. Keep your conversation going each time by asking five follow-up questions.

1. Where do you work?

2. Do you work in an open-plan office?

3. How many people work in your department?

4. Where did you last go on a business trip?

5. Have you ever been to America?

6. How is work going at the moment?

7. What do you do when you’re not working?

8. Do you like the cinema?

9. What’s happening in your company these days?

10. What are you going to do at the weekend?

Ex. 4. Decide what to say in these situations. Make out your own dialogues.

1. You are arriving for a meeting early. You are the second person there.

2. You are having dinner with the visitors at your company. Break the ice.

3. The pilot on your flight announces a delay. Speak to a passenger next to you.

4. A new person joins your company. You meet her / him for the first time.

5. You meet your colleague at the coffee machine.

Ex. 5. Categorize the phrases and expressions according to the following functions. Three have already been done for you.

a) Is that the time?	h) Really?	o) I see…
b) Hello again	i) It was nice talking to you.	p) We haven’t met. I’m ...
c) That reminds me…	j) Excuse me, …	q) Will you excuse me?
d) Uh huh.	k) I must just…	r) Long time no see.
e) I’m afraid, I’ll have to be going.	l) I couldn’t help noticing…	s) While we are on a subject of…
f) I understand you…	m) By the way…	t) You are…, aren’t you?
g) You must be…	n) Right.	u) [Name] asked me to give you best regards

Opening a conversation	Directing a conversation	Showing interest	Closing a conversation
b	с		а

Ex. 6. You “put your foot in your mouth” when you say something that makes a person feel embarrassed. Example: “Last night I was telling a joke, and I really put my foot in my mouth. I had no idea I was talking about Rob's wife”. Note: The word “foot” is always singular when you say "foot in your mouth". Example: “Let’s all be very careful what we say at the meeting tomorrow. I don’t want anyone putting their foot in their mouth”.

Repair the following situations by using some of the language below, modal constructions, or something of their own creation.

What I mean is ... . What I meant was... . Let me put it another way ... . What I'm saying is ... . What I'm trying to say is ... .

Don't get me wrong ... . Please don't misunderstand ... . Excuse me, if I said that I didn't really mean to. Let me rephrase what I just said.

1. I don’'t like Americans.

You realize you are talking to an American.

2. A woman’s place is in the home.

You realize that you’re talking to a woman who is an accountant who sends her children to a child care center.

3. Anyone can teach.

You realize you are talking to a teacher.

4. I can’t stand people who smoke.

You realize that the extremely pleasant person you’re talking to has a suit that smells like stale smoke.

5. I can’t understand anything that person is saying. (about a non-native speaker of English).

You realize that the only foreign language you tried to learn was Spanish and you were really never able to say anything in that language.

Ex. 7. Roleplay the following situations, using as much polite language as you can.

Situation 1

Student A: You see your colleague in the canteen. You’ve heard he/she applied for a better job, but didn’t get it. How can you diplomatically ask what happened?

Student B: You applied for job with another company with higher pay and better promotion prospects. You didn’t get the job because you failed a test in the interviewing process. How can you explain this to your colleague?

Situation 2

Student A: You are a client negotiating an important contract at a meeting with the sales manager. You’re about to sign when the sales manager spills coffee on your white shirt. It’s an expensive designer label and one of your favourites. What do you say?

Student B: You are the sales manager at a meeting with an important client. The negotiation for a valuable new contract is going very well but then you spill coffee on the client’s white shirt. What can you say to apologize and to make amends?