1. Getting to know people 2014.ppt

Welcome to BFSU Patricia   What is small talk? It’s polite friendly conversation about unimportant subjects . Is small talk a waste of time? NO! Small talk gets friendships started and ‘breaks the ice’ before important business meetings and other events. What are the suitable / unsuitable topics for small talk? Suitable topics : hometown, country, weather, cities, work, interests, travel Unsuitable topics: religion, politics, age, money, looks, marital status Questions about where someone is from Where are you from? Where do you come from? Are you from Britain / Japan / India / Europe / North America? Which part of Canada are you from? What part of China do you come from? I’m from Liaoning Province, in the northeast (of China). I come from Kunming, in the southwest. I come from Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province. I was born and brought up / grew up in … Now I work in… What should you remember when doing small talk? Say a little about yourself Ask the other person or people to present themselves Go on with more about yourself … How do you encourage conversation? Showing interest / surprise Really? I’m surprised to hear that. Do you? / Did you? / Are you/ Have you? Asking follow-up questions What did you think of …? When are you going to…? How do you feel about …? Using the speaker’s words in a follow-up questions So the meeting’s been postponed until next March? Next March? A comment (sometimes with a follow-up question) How interesting! That’s great! That’s wonderful! Oh, no! That’s too bad. That’s the crazies thing I’ve ever heard about. What did you do then? Pair work You’re now at a cocktail party held by ABC Company. You start talking with a person from…Your dialogue should cover the following: 1. initiate a conversation 2. introduce yourself 3. talk about your job/ your hometown, etc 4. close the conversation Monologue: self-introduction  Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is ... I’m from ... I was bor