You're listening to Business English Pod, the Business English podcast for professionals on the move.
Hello, and welcome back to Business English Pod.
My name's Edwin, and I'll be your host for today's lesson on socializing with strangers.
Traveling, whether for business or pleasure, will put you in all sorts of situations with people you don't know.
They could be sitting beside you on a train, in an airport lounge, or on a ferry ride.
And what if you want to strike up a conversation with these people?
What can you say to get the conversation going and to keep it going?
Making conversation with strangers is a useful skill, and there are some great techniques you can learn for these situations.
Today we'll look at how to start off a conversation by commenting on your surroundings, as well as how to ask about someone's travel.
We'll also learn about reacting with interest, telling a personal story, and giving your name.
In the dialogue we'll hear Scott and Joe, who find themselves sitting next to each other in an airport lounge waiting for their flights.
Scott strikes up a conversation with Joe, and the two demonstrate a typical interaction that you might hear between two travelers.
As you listen, try to answer the following questions.
1.
What is Joe and Scott's first topic of conversation?
2.
What does Joe mention that Scott shows interest in?
3.
At what point in the conversation do Joe and Scott introduce themselves?
Looks like it's really starting to fill up.
Yeah, pretty busy.
I think everything's kind of backed up.
Something about a snowstorm in the Midwest I heard.
Is that right?
Geez, I'm glad I didn't come through Chicago.
Yeah, right.
Long enough day as it is.
Where'd you start?
Miami.
Nice.
And where are you headed?
Home to Seoul, if we ever get out of here.
South Korea, eh?
Never been, but I've heard great things.
You like it there?
Yeah, for sure.
You know, it's a big crazy city with lots happening.
Nasty traffic, but great food.
Yeah, right.
I've got a friend who lives there.
Says the capital is pretty intense.
Work hard, play hard kind of place.
Yeah, that kind of sums it up.
Hopefully I'll make it there sometime.
My buddy keeps bugging me to visit.
Good to meet you, by the way.
I'm Scott.
Joe Reed.
Good to meet you too, Scott.
You said it's a long day?
Yeah, fairly long.
Started in St.
Louis.
Headed to Hong Kong.
Nice.
Yeah, but it'll be nicer once they get us all out of here, and on time.
No doubt.
Now let's go through the dialogue again and look at the language Scott and Joe used in their conversation.
Looks like it's really starting to fill up.
To start a conversation with a stranger, you need a good opening.
It's best to stick with simple, safe topics, like Scott does by commenting on how busy the airport is becoming.
And because it's an informal situation, Scott starts his sentence with the reduced looks like rather than the full it looks like.
Let's try some more informal ways of starting a conversation by commenting on your surroundings.
This news station sure looks great, doesn't it?
Looks like it's going to be a full flight.
Sure is quiet in here today.
I'm glad I found the gate.
Kind of confusing in here.
How does Joe respond to Scott's comment?
Yeah, pretty busy.
I think everything's kind of backed up.
Something about a snowstorm in the Midwest I heard.
In casual conversation, we often echo what someone says, as Joe does with, yeah, pretty busy.
And by not using a complete sentence, Joe is matching Scott's informal tone.
Because he has had a positive response.
Scott continues with the topic, explaining that everything is backed up or delayed because of a snowstorm.
What is Joe's next response?
Is that right?
Geez, I'm glad I didn't come through Chicago.
Yeah, right.
Long enough day as it is.
Where'd you start?
Joe could respond simply with, is that right?
Which shows mild interest.
But two short responses might actually show that he's not really interested in conversation.
Instead, he follows up on Joe's comment about the snowstorm, which allows the conversation to continue.
And Scott picks up on Joe's comment about his travel with a question about where Joe started.
Asking about someone's travel is a common and safe conversational technique.
So let's practice a few more examples.
You've been in transit for a while now?
Are you connecting on or is London the end of the line for you?
Did you just get in on that flight from Toronto?
Have you been waiting quite a while?
So, where did Joe start his day?
Miami.
Nice.
And where are you headed?
Home to Seoul, if we ever get out of here.
South Korea, eh?
Never been, but I've heard great things.
You like it there?
Scott follows his first question about travel with another one, asking where Joe is headed or going.
And to keep the conversation going, Scott reacts with interest to Joe's destination.
Scott begins with a confirmation question, asking, South Korea, hey?
Just like Joe's question, is that right?
Scott's question simply shows interest.
And Scott continues by adding a general comment and asking Joe if he likes it there.
Reacting with interest to what someone says is essential to keeping a conversation going.
So let's run through some more ways to show interest.
Notice how we often start with a short comment or question, followed by a longer statement or question.
Is that right?
Wow.
I hear it's beautiful this time of year.
That's amazing.
So, what was it like?
Paris?
Really?
Oh, I have always wanted to go there.
No kidding.
That must be such an exciting job.
Now, let's find out if Joe likes living in Korea.
Yeah.
For sure.
You know, it's a big, crazy city with lots happening.
Nasty traffic, but great food.
Yeah, right.
I've got a friend who lives there.
Says the capital is pretty intense.
Work hard, play hard kind of place.
Joe starts with a simple and informal expression of agreement yeah, for sure.
Before giving a very brief summary of life in Korea, including some positive and some negative aspects.
It wouldn't be totally appropriate in this situation to give too much detail.
Joe just plays it safe with some general comments about the place.
Now, by showing interest in South Korea, Scott has set up an opportunity to relate a short personal story about his friend who lives there.
Using another informal expression of agreement.
Yeah right, Scott then makes a few observations about Seoul that he has heard through his friend.
Telling a short personal story which could be related to what the other person has mentioned is another great way to keep a conversation going.
So let's practice some more ways of relating a story.
You know, something similar happened to me just last week.
Well, I was in New Delhi for about a month and it was really eye-opening.
My brother was telling me about a really bad experience going through security.
I had to wait almost two hours for my bags.
It was terrible.
Now let's get back to the conversation.
Yeah, that kind of sums it up.
Hopefully I'll make it there sometime.
My buddy keeps bugging me to visit.
Good to meet you, by the way.
I'm Scott.
Joe agrees with how Scott has summed it up or summarized life in Korea and with a final comment about how his friend wants him to visit.
Scott effectively closes the short thread of conversation about Korea.
Scott and Joe have now been talking for a couple of minutes and they've just finished a small topic of conversation.
So Scott takes the opportunity to formally introduce himself.
It's very common in casual situations to give your name after having talked to someone for a while, especially if you've had a fairly friendly conversation.
And giving your name can be done quite simply, as you can see in the following examples.
Name's Terry, by the way.
Terry Brandt.
It's been really great to chat.
My name's Rita.
Nice to meet you.
I'm Dan Phillips.
I'm Juliet.
Jules for short, if you like.
So, how can you respond when someone tells you their name?
Joe Reed, good to meet you too, Scott.
You said it's a long day?
Joe echoes the style of Scott's introduction by stating his name and saying, good to meet you.
And because Scott has asked most of the questions, it would be polite for Joe to ask some as well.
Conversations shouldn't be too one-sided.
Joe's question you said it's a long day is basically an invitation for Scott to talk about his own travels.
The rhythm of conversation often involves taking turns and asking your partner the same types of things that he or she has asked you.
Let's hear how Scott responds.
Yeah, fairly long.
Started in St.
Louis, headed to Hong Kong.
Nice.
Yeah, but it'll be nicer once they get us all out of here and on time.
No doubt.
Again, you can hear informal shortened sentences like fairly long and started in St.
Louis and headed to Hong Kong.
And we also hear Joe responding informally to show interest and agreement and keep the conversation going.
As we've seen through Joe and Scott's friendly little chat conversation is about finding safe topics to talk, about keeping things going by showing interest and echoing the other person's ideas and tone.
Now, let's practice some of the language we learned in today's lesson.
We're going to start with a role-play practice.
Imagine you are chatting with someone sitting beside you in the airport.
You'll need to start by commenting on the surroundings.
Then you'll ask about the person's travel, show interest, relate a short personal story and finally give the person your name.
At each step, you'll hear a prompt spoken by your fellow traveler.
Then I'll give you some suggestions for the language you can use to respond.
We'll guide you through each step in the practice and play an example answer for each response.
Start by saying hello and commenting on how busy it is in the airport.
Answer.
Hello.
Sure is busy in here, isn't it?
Yeah, but I'm glad I don't have to go far for my connecting flight.
Now ask the person where they are going today.
Answer.
For sure.
Where are you headed today?
Oh, I'm off to Mexico for some sun.
Now express interest in the person's holiday and say that it sounds wonderful.
Answer.
Really?
Wow, that sounds really wonderful.
Yeah, nice to get away in the middle of winter.
Now tell the person a very short story about how you take a winter vacation every year.
Answer.
I know what you mean.
I try to take a vacation every winter.
Yeah, but the problem is that I might not want to come back.
Now express understanding and tell the person your name.
Answer.
I can understand.
I'm Ben, by the way.
Now let's practice some of the vocabulary and collocations we've covered in this lesson.
In a moment, you'll hear a series of sentences with the words replaced with a beep.
Repeat each sentence, including the missing word.
For example, if you hear, I'm surprised these early flights fill so quickly.
You can say, I'm surprised these early flights fill up so quickly.
After each response, we'll play the correct answer.
Let's begin.
My brother is always... Me to invite him to our condo.
Answer.
My brother is always bugging me to invite him to our condo.
Tickets are expensive enough as it... Without these extra costs...
Answer.
Tickets are expensive enough as it is without these extra costs.
Looks like they're having some quite... weather in the north.
Answer.
Looks like they're having some quite nasty weather in the north.
After visiting LA, we're to San Diego for a few days.
After visiting LA, we're headed to San Diego for a few days.
We've reached the end of this lesson, the first in our series on socializing with strangers.
We've learned how to start off by commenting on your surroundings, ask about someone's travel and react with interest.
We've also looked at how to relate a personal story and give your name.
Thanks for listening and see you again soon.
