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Hello and welcome back to Business English Pod for today's lesson on how to start a conversation while socializing at work.
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For many people, starting a conversation with someone can be a huge challenge.
And it doesn't get any easier when you're doing this in another language.
But it is one of the most important skills for building professional connections.
A simple chat at a conference or event can lead to new opportunities, ideas or contacts helpful for your career.
Learning to network confidently will help you feel more comfortable and prepared in professional and social situations.
So what are some of the things you should think about?
Well, you might start by introducing yourself, especially to someone you recognize but haven't met in person before.
You might also use questions to break the ice and start a conversation on a simple and safe topic.
Informal conversations can be tricky.
For one thing, you need to know how to handle a situation when you forget someone's name.
You also need to be able to find ways to keep a conversation going and, when the situation calls for it, end it politely.
In this lesson we'll hear two dialogues that take place at an HR conference for an international company called Multifresh.
In the first dialogue, we'll hear Penny strike up a conversation with George.
In the second dialogue, Pat tries to strike up a conversation with George.
As you listen to the dialogue, try to answer the following questions.
1.
What information does Penny give when she introduces herself to George?
2.
What topic does Penny mention to get the conversation started?
3.
What excuse does George give for finishing his conversation with Pat?
Excuse me, Mr. Chow?
Yes.
We haven't met.
I'm Penny Lin from Kuala Lumpur office.
Ah, yes.
It's great to finally meet you.
It's good to meet you, too.
So, interesting speech, wasn't it?
Yes.
Looks like we have a few challenges ahead.
Long time no see.
Ah, yes, hi.
George, you're George Chow from the Singapore office, right?
Yes.
We met last year when you visited Australia.
Oh, of course.
Yes, that's right.
I remember chatting with you over coffee.
And your name was?
Pat.
Pat McCarthy.
Ah, yeah.
Good to see you again, Pat.
Yes, it's been a while.
So, which floor are you staying on?
Up on the 12th.
Great view up there.
You?
I'm on the 3rd, right within striking distance of the bar.
Gosh, is that the time?
Sorry, Pat.
I just have to make a quick phone call.
It was nice running into you.
Oh, yes, of course.
See you around.
Yeah, see you later.
Now let's go through the dialogue again and look at how Penny, George and Pat develop their conversations.
We begin with Penny starting a conversation with George.
Excuse me, Mr. Chow?
Yes.
We haven't met.
I'm Penny Lin from Kuala Lumpur office.
In many professional situations, like a company-wide conference, you will talk to people you know about or you've met briefly but that you don't know well.
In these situations, it's a good idea to mention the person's name, as Penny does when she says Excuse me, Mr Chow.
This will create a connection right away.
After you mention the person's name, if you know it, then you can introduce yourself.
What kind of information should you give in a short introduction?
Your name is important, of course, as well as where you're from.
Where you're from normally means where you live and work, or which company or department you're with.
Let's run through some more examples of introducing yourself to someone you recognize but don't know well or haven't met in person before.
Hi, I think we've met before.
I'm Carla from the Vancouver office.
Sorry, you're James, correct?
I'm Martin from finance.
I think we were in the same session earlier.
I'm Louise.
Nice to meet you.
Sam, right?
My name is Grant Fuller from Biofuel Engineering.
Now that Penny has introduced herself, how does she start an actual conversation?
Let's listen.
Ah, yes.
It's great to finally meet you.
It's good to meet you too.
So, interesting speech, wasn't it?
After a very typical exchange of good to meet you, Penny needs to make the conversation about something.
She needs a topic.
Safe and comfortable topics often relate to the place or event where you are talking, the weather or seasons, professional interests or things that are happening in your city, but not politics religion, relationships or something too personal.
Penny comments on a speech or a formal talk that has just happened at the conference.
Her technique is very simple.
She makes a brief comment, then adds a tag question to invite George to respond.
A tag question is a short question added to a statement, like pennies, isn't it?
What are some other ways of starting a conversation with a tag question?
Let's practice a few more examples.
You're with Ecotech, right?
You've been to this event before, haven't you?
That was a long session, wasn't it?
So how does George respond to Penny's conversation starter?
Let's listen.
Yes, looks like we have a few challenges ahead.
George responds by making a comment about the content of the speech.
He says there are challenges ahead, which means there will be some difficult things to deal with.
With this response, Penny has lots more she can say to continue the conversation.
Now let's move on to the second dialogue with George and Pat.
As we can hear, Pat recognizes George, but George doesn't have a strong memory of Pat.
Long time no see.
Uh, yes, hi.
George, you're George Chow from the Singapore office, right?
Yes.
We met last year when you visited Australia.
Oh, of course.
Yes, that's right.
I remember chatting with you over coffee.
And your name was...
Pat begins with the expression long time no see, which is what we say when we haven't seen someone we know for a long time.
After that, you can probably hear that George doesn't really remember Pat.
That is until Pat mentions when and where they met before.
That helps George remember Pat, but not his name.
What can we do in this tricky situation?
There are two simple strategies.
First, you can use an unfinished sentence like George does, inviting the person to state their name.
Secondly, you can just be very honest and say politely you have forgotten their name or it slipped your mind.
Let's go through a few examples to practice these two strategies for responding to someone when you don't remember their name.
Hi there, I'm Ben, and I'm afraid I've forgotten your name.
I'm really sorry, but your name's just slipped my mind.
Sorry, I know we've met, but I'm drawing a blank on your name.
We've met before, haven't we?
I'm Jane, and you are...
Now let's get back to the dialogue.
Once the two have each other's names, they can move on to start a conversation.
In the first dialogue, we heard Penny use a statement and a tag question.
In this case, Pat uses a simple WH question.
That is, a question starting with who, what, where, when, why, or which.
And notice that Pat chooses a very simple and safe topic to ask about.
Let's try some more ways of asking about simple and safe topics using a WH question.
So, what brings you to this event?
What kind of work do you do?
How did you get involved with this conference?
So how does George respond to Pat's question?
Let's listen.
And notice how George not only replies to the question, but turns the conversation back to Pat.
Up on the 12th.
Great view up there.
You?
I'm on the 3rd, right within striking distance of the bar.
Gosh, is that the time?
Sorry, Pat.
I just have to make a quick phone call.
It was nice running into you.
In a social conversation, both people are responsible for developing it.
So George doesn't only say which floor he's on.
He also comments on the view and turns the question back to Pat.
Pat answers the question directly and comments that he's within striking distance or close to the bar.
George probably isn't keen on continuing a conversation with someone whose main priority is his proximity to the hotel bar, so he makes a polite excuse to leave.
He does this by apologizing before giving his reason for having to finish.
He then makes a positive comment, saying it was nice to run into Pat or meet him by chance.
What are some other ways we can give polite excuses for finishing a conversation?
Let's practice a few more examples.
I'm going to grab a coffee, but it was nice talking to you.
I think I see someone I need to catch up with.
Let's talk again soon.
I'll let you get back to your group, but thanks for the conversation.
I should check in with my team now.
I really enjoyed our chat.
Now that George has said politely that he needs to leave the conversation, we can hear Pat and George say goodbye.
Oh, yes, of course.
See you around.
Yeah, see you later.
Of course, see you around and see you later are common informal ways to say goodbye.
Note that when we say see you later, it doesn't mean we actually know if and when we will see the person.
If someone says this to you, you don't have to wonder whether you've forgotten about some planned meeting.
Now let's practice some of the language we learned in today's lesson.
Imagine you are at a company-wide conference and you encounter someone from another office named Brian.
You'll hear a cue from Brian.
Then I'll give you a suggestion for what you can say in response.
We'll guide you through each step in the practice and provide an example answer for each response.
Ready?
Let's give it a go.
Wow, there sure are a lot of people here.
Start by agreeing and say your name is Kelly and confirm the other person's name is Brian.
Answer.
There sure are.
By the way, I'm Kelly.
And your name's Brian, right?
Yeah, that's right.
I'm with the marketing division.
Now state that you understand they'll be giving a presentation later and add a tag question.
Answer.
Okay.
And you folks are giving a presentation later, aren't you?
Yes, we'll be talking about the new campaign we're going to launch soon.
Next say, that's interesting, and ask where Kelly is based.
Answer.
Oh, that sounds interesting.
And where are you based?
I'm based in Chicago, but I spend a lot of time at our office in Philly, too.
Finally say you're excited to see the presentation, but right now you have to check in with your team.
Well, I'm excited to see your presentation, but right now I should check in with my team.
That's all for this lesson on socializing and starting a conversation.
We've learned how to introduce yourself and start a conversation with a tag question.
We've also covered what to say when you don't remember someone's name using WH questions to get a conversation going and politely ending a conversation.
For more practice.
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Thanks for listening, and see you again soon.
