This is the Business English Podcast Episode 323, how to ask your coworker about their pets in English.
Welcome to the Business English Podcast from All Ears English.
Get the English skills you need to achieve your dreams in global business.
For a presentation, a meeting, or your office party, this is real business English with your favorite American hosts, Lindsay and Michelle coming to you from New York City and Colorado, USA.
Hey Michelle, how's it going today?
Good, how are you? How's Kiefer?
How's Kiefer? Actually today he's at daycare because we have our bathrooms being renovated and he was too stressed out this week when all the guys are working in the house.
Too stressful for him.
So we sent him to daycare to play around with other dogs.
So cute. Like when you drop him off, does he have separation anxiety for daycare?
No, he gets super excited, at least for this particular place because he knows this place really well.
He starts to do this like yelping thing when we drive down the road and he knows we're going where we're going.
And then he just gets super excited and runs into the place.
He just, that's so cute.
I know you love him so much.
I mean, how does that feel?
Like when somebody asks you about Kiefer, how do you feel?
Your face lights up, right?
Of course. Of course.
I mean, you know, it's similar to when people ask you about your kids, right?
You just love, these are, these are what we call our fur babies or babies in our fur babies.
You know, it's a really good way to build a connection because number one, you remember they have a dog.
You know that they care about the dog or the cat or the pet or whatever.
And then you're asking, you're taking the time to ask.
That's connection, right?
Absolutely. So that's what we're going to be talking about today.
I'm excited for this episode because we have a question today from a listener about pets and talking about pets with your coworkers.
So definitely guys, though, make sure that you hit follow wherever you're listening to the Business English podcast so you never miss anything.
All right. Good stuff.
So I'm going to go ahead and read the question.
So this is from Raziay Esmalpour and Raziay says, you are fantastic.
I can't express how amazing your podcast is.
That's amazing. I'm a big fan and I listened to you every day.
Thank you very much for all your efforts.
Well, thank you, Raziay.
Thank you for listening.
We appreciate you. We appreciate you.
Thank you. Thank you.
You're the best. Thank you to Raziay.
And I also feel like Raziay is a very smart listener because he or she is recognizing that this is a real value that Americans have towards loving their pets and almost not quite but almost treating them like human beings.
Yeah, no, it's true.
I mean, I definitely recently I've seen a couple dogs and strollers and oh, yeah, no, no, just over the weekend we went to the farmer's market here in least three times.
I saw three different ladies, millennials, definitely with pups in their backpack.
There was a special backpack they had purchased for the pup.
Oh, really? Yeah. Now, Denver is a little off the wall out of control with how much we love our pets.
It might be regional or state based too.
Yeah. I noticed when I go back to Boston, it's not the same at all.
Oh, interesting. Yeah, there are fewer beer gardens that allow dogs.
There are fewer restaurants that allow dogs.
There's just less of a dog culture that I know in Boston.
I don't know about New York.
That's an interesting question.
I know that in Hoboken, which is right next to New York, there's a huge dog culture.
I mean, in New York, of course also, but I wouldn't say, well, I have a question for you then.
Does Kiefer pretty much go out with you everywhere to restaurants?
No, I mean, not every, no, no, just sometimes the farmer's market, we can bring him there.
We'll bring him to outdoor breweries if we know we're going to be out of brewery outdoors.
But no, every time we go out to eat, definitely not.
I've seen that more honestly in Europe.
Really? Western Europe.
I'll see dogs in restaurants a lot more.
I think our health code might be, I don't know, there might be certain things written into our health code that are different than in Europe.
I don't know. Interesting.
Very nuanced conversation.
Yeah, definitely. Well, I mean, this listener is right.
Pets are huge in the US.
Yes. They're part of the family.
So this is important to talk about, and I like this focus specifically on talking about it with your coworkers because this is business English, so we're going to get into it.
So even if somebody doesn't bring it up, doesn't say I have a pet, it's always a great conversation starter.
Don't you think, Lindsay?
Oh, for sure. And I also want to mention to put this out there that nowadays a lot of offices will let you bring your dog to work.
So that's another level.
I know where my partner works.
They are allowed to bring their dog.
Kiefer has never gone into work.
Actually, I think he did once.
He put on his little tuxedo from our wedding.
It was very cute. Oh my gosh.
Oh my gosh. Oh yeah, yeah.
It's ridiculous. I know.
We're beyond help here.
So people are bringing their dogs into work and the dog will just sit by the person's feet as they're working.
And that will happen in certain office spaces with certain modern tech companies, different companies.
Sometimes they'll have like a company dog.
Yeah, the Boston dog or something.
Yeah. Right. I think that it can help people.
I mean, as long as you don't have anybody there who's allergic or is afraid of dogs, I think that just having animals around can be so helpful for kind of just mental health.
Oh my gosh. 100%. I mean, why do you think a lot of the conferences I've gone to in the last few years, they always have a puppy pen.
There's only puppies in the middle of the showroom floor.
Oh, really? That's cute.
Oh, definitely. And you can pick up the puppies.
They're just playing around in a little pen.
And I think they want to help people reduce stress because conferences can be stressful.
I'll build relationships.
Maybe there's that person you wanted to talk to.
They'd give a presentation.
Now they're by the puppy pen.
It's so much easier to start a conversation and to keep people on the showroom floor, yeah.
To look at options, to buy things, that sort of thing.
Yes. Now I want a puppy.
Anyway. So a lot of times pet owners will just bring it up.
So let's talk about what can we say?
So let's talk about first, if anybody mentions having a pet, I generally ask three questions first.
And this is in no particular order, Lindsay.
So what are some good starter questions when somebody mentions, oh, my dog, or maybe that just comes up in conversation?
Okay. Yeah. So this one's very common.
So what kind of dog do you have?
Or what kind of cat do you have?
Or what's your dog's name?
What's your cat's name?
Yeah. Can I see a picture?
And I just had this conversation.
We went to a one -year -old birthday party for our friend whose daughter just turned one.
We brought Kiefer to the park.
And then the friend's sister was there who has a dog back home.
And of course I said, oh, what kind of I also said, is he a rescue?
That's a very common.
This is a subtopic we could go into another day, but it's very common in the US to adopt rescue pets.
Rescue, meaning they came from a shelter.
And they weren't like breed it.
They weren't. Yeah.
They're not a breed.
They weren't bred by a breeder and they're not pure bred.
And there are connotations and values.
And people have certain thoughts on one way or the other and maybe we'll go into that another day.
But yeah, that's a common question.
Is he a rescue? Is he a mutt?
Or maybe not is he a mutt, but like, is he a mix?
Because he might look like a mix of different breeds.
Usually these rescue dogs are a mix.
Kiefer's a mix of like five or six different breeds.
Yeah. Right. And sometimes the owner doesn't even know.
I mean, especially with the rescues, so I had a beagle growing up and he was a rescue and we knew he was a beagle.
I mean, he looked like a beagle.
Yeah. Those beagle ear.
Beagles are so cute.
Like I, I want a beagle one day.
When I, when I get another dog, one day when my kids are a little bit older, I'm getting a beagle.
But yeah. He was definitely mixed with something.
He didn't look like a pure beagle that when you look up online, you know, you do a Google image of a beagle.
It wasn't that. So a lot of times the owner just maybe, I don't know, it's something.
Yeah. Now there's the whole, this is a whole conversation.
There's a trend to have your dog's DNA taken.
Is there? Oh my gosh.
Yeah. The dog DNA test.
Oh yeah. So we ended up just having, so Kiefer sister's mom did the test.
The tests are expensive.
So you don't necessarily want to go and spend a lot of money on it.
We just got the results from her.
So what do you do? Can you tell us anything?
Yeah. I mean, he's part border Collie part, I think he's got some Aussie.
He's got lab. He's got German Shepherd.
I think he has a terrier in blue to Kuhn hound.
Yeah. It was like five or six different breeds he's got in him.
It's crazy. Wow. Yeah.
So you can have that insight.
So often people will have that insight and they'll share.
Oh, he's part of this.
He's part that, or he's super mutt.
Meaning he is so many breeds that you can't even list them.
So there's a category of super mutt.
So I mean, Lindsay, so just before we move on, what do you think about talking about this with your coworkers?
Fantastic. Especially if you know you're in a location, some of this could be cultural, you know, you're in a location, a part of the U S or part of the world where people put a lot of value on their dogs.
I know everywhere they do, but there are certain places, Denver's one of them where people just put extra energy into their dogs.
And that's especially great.
That you know that.
And to go into that conversation there.
Right. So, and we talk about how the, so much on this podcast, we share that business life, you don't become a robot when you go into work.
Yes. And this is a real soft spot for people is to talk about their pets.
So if you got someone who's real tough looking and then you bring up their pet, all of a sudden you might see them just kind of like totally like change their mannerisms.
They're like, yeah, light up yet become more animated and kind of melt, you know?
Yeah. They're like some tough guy.
He's got like a tiny little of wime riner or something.
Like, yeah, yeah, yeah.
So, and um, so yeah, I mean, it's also good to add in, of course, if you have a pet too, or if you love that person's particular pet, so you could say, Oh, I love dogs.
What's your dog's name?
Right. So if you really love dogs, if you love that animal, I mean, let's see what's, what's another thing you could say.
Yeah. So just saying, uh, what is it Michelle?
I'm like, Oh, here.
Oh, I know. We're so into this.
No, we're, um, you could say, Oh wow.
I had a parakeet growing up.
They're great birds.
So I did have a parakeet.
You did. Did you? Interesting.
I had a few. Yeah. I had a, like two, a yellow and green one and a blue one that kind of looked like a zebra tootsie and sunshine.
And then when sunshine died, we got Sunday.
So Sunday, that's a good one.
That's a good name.
I like that. Um, so showing curiosity, this does, as Michelle said, we're not robots.
We are human beings coming into work.
Our dogs are a big part of our lives.
So this would build a business rapport for sure.
Yeah. Yeah. And, and like Lindsay, what we're saying is basically it's not, it's really not much different than talking to someone outside of the workplace about this, right?
Because we're still people at work.
It's just a great way to get close to your coworkers and you know, make everyone a little bit more at ease.
And these questions that were, you know, we're going to share now other questions you can ask.
These are also great.
Um, when, if, and when your coworker brings their dog into work, which might help you meet their dog for the first time, here's three questions you could ask, right?
Where, or when did you get him or her, right?
Or how old is he or she?
Or how did you choose that?
Name, right? People are so excited to talk about that for sure.
Yeah, exactly. Or if like, let's say it's a rare pet, Ray, maybe they bring in some sort of iguana or something like that, um, or, or a snake.
Lindsay, how do you feel about snakes?
I think it'd be less common to have someone bring a snake into the office, right?
Yes, I think so too.
I mean, maybe in some workplace somewhere, who knows probably, but, um, I, yeah, I don't love snakes.
I mean, I don't love snake as a pet, you know, more power to you as we say, but not my choice.
Not much. Not my choice either.
I think. Yeah. Um, so, but if somebody does mention that they have a pet, either they bring their pet, probably not.
But if they mentioned that, you know, you can always ask about it, ask about caring for the pet.
Oh wow. What's it like having a snake?
What do they eat? Show interest.
Oh yeah. For sure. Because I mean, it is interesting for sure.
Right. You, what you're curious naturally, once you realize someone has, yeah, an iguana snake, what do they eat?
You want to know these things.
So these are also great questions.
Yeah. Yeah. So we also need to remember what they've told us before.
Right. And then we want to have a catch -up occasionally.
These are, this is really what's powerful.
It's not necessarily that first time it's about checking in before a meeting.
There's always that moment of small talk at the beginning of when you're waiting, especially with zoom, when you're waiting for other remote working partners and colleagues to come on.
Yeah. You're not just going to go into business.
There's always three to five minutes of time.
And often pets, you might see someone's dog behind them.
You're going to ask about them.
Right. Right. Right.
Right. Exactly. So you can always say, how's blank doing, right?
How's how I started the episode.
Exactly. Or do you have any recent pictures of Kiefer?
Kiefer's the star of today's episode.
Yes. This episode is for Kiefer.
We love you Kiefer.
And a lot of our listeners, by the way, who are now, when they attend fluency parties, they have a chance to meet Kiefer.
Sometimes when we all get on the, because now we do offer fluency parties every month for anyone in our, in our courses.
So yes, that is fun.
That's a perk of joining our courses.
You get to meet Kiefer.
You could make a comment like about the weekend.
You could say the weather was gorgeous this weekend.
Did you get out with Kiefer?
Nice. Yes. What I mean, Lindsay, is there anything else as a dog owner that you would like people to ask you about him?
Anything? I do like when they ask about his background because I think he's got some pretty awesome breeds in him.
And that's kind of cool.
Like the Border Collie is a very intelligent breed.
And the German Shepherd also.
It's just like, I like to go into that and sort of, I feel a little braggy when I say eyes part Border Collie, part German Shepherd.
What else I'd like them to ask?
Not really. I think just, I love when they look at Kiefer and they're like, he's got such pretty eyes.
He stares into your soul.
Often people will say that.
Really? They'll say he is beautiful and he's got those eyes that stare into your soul.
That's what they say.
That's so cute. Oh, I wish I could meet Kiefer.
Oh my gosh. One day, one day, Michelle, one day.
Yes. I was also just thinking about something just as a bonus.
Do you celebrate a gacha day?
Yeah, we do. We didn't celebrate it this year, but we usually do.
It's usually like early April around there or it is early April.
Gacha day is great.
Another great term for our listeners to know.
What does that mean, Michelle?
It's the day that you got your dog.
Sometimes, you may not actually know your dog's birthday.
Do you know Kiefer's birthday?
Yeah, I know Kiefer's birthday just because we got him as a 10 week old puppy.
A lot of people do adopt their dogs at age three from the shelter.
They don't know. Often the shelters will go down to Southern states, Arkansas, Oklahoma is where he came from, Texas, New Mexico.
They'll rescue dogs, older dogs sometimes.
We don't always know what their birthday is.
Yeah. Gotcha day. That's a fun bonus.
Lindsey, we could go on and on talking about this topic, but let's do a couple of role plays.
Yeah, we're building on each other.
All right, so here I have a dog and you're my coworker.
There we go. Yes. Oh my gosh.
That's the cutest dog on your phone.
Is that yours? Oh thanks.
Yeah, that's my pup.
Oh so cute. What kind of dog is he?
She? She. She's a black lab beagle mix.
Adorable. What's her name?
Daisy. So sweet. I had a beagle growing up.
I love the mix. Beautiful.
Oh, how fun. Do you have any more pictures?
Of course, and then I show you, and then we have to know when to stop, of course.
Then we're going to go into another one.
Which is a follow up here, Michelle, and I think maybe we don't need to review the role play.
We'll just go right into the next one.
Does that sound good?
Yeah. Sounds good. So all right.
Hey, Lindsey, how's Daisy?
She's good. Thanks.
Got any new pictures?
Yes. I bet she's been loving this weather.
Yeah. We took her hiking this weekend.
It was so much fun.
Yeah, definitely in like Colorado, you're going to see people taking their dogs, hiking, photos of that sort of thing.
This is great. So you remembered the key connection skill for work here is that you remembered I had a dog.
You remembered her name.
You're asking about her, and then that's really going to build the relationship, I think.
Oh, absolutely. Right.
So really showing that follow up.
Yes. Oh, wow. I didn't realize how long we've been talking about pets.
Yeah. It can get out of control sometimes, but this just shows you.
I think the most important takeaway for our listeners today is that pet culture is huge in the United States.
So here, we're just talking about the US.
I'm not going to speak for England, Australia.
I will say that Americans love their pets, their house pets.
So it can be a really good idea, especially if you know your coworker in particular really values their pet.
Going into that is a great way to build the rapport.
Absolutely. Love it.
And if you haven't already, just to give you another episode to listen to is Business English episode 305.
Should you greet coworkers in the restroom?
Okay. We're going from pets to the restroom.
Interesting. Well, I don't know.
I guess you know why I chose it because I thought, oh, it's a level of personal like something outside of the typical work.
Sure. Well, that was my connection.
Yeah. We look at business from all different angles because again, we're human beings going into work.
All right. I love that.
All right, Michelle.
All right. I'll see you very soon on the next episode.
You have a good day.
Thanks. You too. And say hi to keeper.
I will. Bye. Bye. Thank you for listening to Business English, a podcast just for you, the high achieving global professional.
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