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 at an office party.
Office parties can be fun, but have you ever stood there with a colleague and felt like you don't know what to say?
Maybe you've got a great working relationship, but outside the office it feels like a different game.
In fact, good working relationships are supported by good personal relationships.
The more we know our coworkers, the better our work can be.
And the office party can be a great chance to get to know them better and build that relationship.
So how do we do that?
What are some techniques for socializing at office parties?
In today's lesson we'll look at paying or giving someone a compliment, declining a drink and gossiping.
We'll also learn how to change the topic and introduce two people who haven't met before.
In the dialogue, we'll hear Amber, who works for a pharmaceutical company.
At a company Christmas party, she runs into one of her colleagues, Max.
Max and Amber chat for a while before Finn, a new colleague of Amber's, shows up on the scene.
As you listen to the dialogue, try to answer the following questions.
1.
What compliment does Amber give to Max?
2.
What reason does Amber give for not wanting a drink?
Max and Amber are talking about work colleagues when Amber changes the topic.
What topic does she ask about?
Max, where have you been hiding?
Oh, hey, Amber.
Yeah, I've been hanging out with Dave and Annette over by the bar.
Ah, the gang's all here then.
Hey, I gotta say, you look great, Max.
Not every day I see you in a tie.
Thanks.
And you're looking pretty great yourself.
Having fun?
Yeah.
The meal was better than the normal office party fare, that's for sure.
I was sitting with this group from San Diego.
You probably heard them over there.
They're a real riot.
Yeah, I think I know one of them.
Gordon or something.
Good guy.
Anyway, what are you drinking?
Can I get you something from the bar?
Oh, thanks, Max.
But I'm okay for now.
A bit too much wine with dinner, and I've got to drive later.
Fair enough.
So, you all ready for Christmas?
Are you kidding me?
Honestly, Max, this feels like the first time I've left the office in over a month.
This holiday madness is going to kill me, I swear.
Ain't that the truth.
But at least we've got a couple of fresh faces on the team.
Like that new guy from Portland, Finn.
He's got some really crazy ideas.
But good ones.
I mean good crazy.
A real breath of fresh air.
New guy from Portland, eh?
Don't think I know him.
Well, he's definitely the best of the new bunch.
But anyway, I've been meaning to ask you about that whole Arizona condo thing.
Did you actually buy an old place?
I sure did.
It's kind of a dump now, but not for long.
I've got big plans for it.
How on earth do you find the time to do all that?
I have my hands full with just one house.
But hey, speak of the devil, there's Finn.
Finn, hey!
We were just talking about you.
Hi, Amber.
All good, I hope?
Yeah, of course.
So, Finn, this is Max Delaney.
He's in marketing, too, but works out of Anaheim.
Max, this is Finn Burton.
Pleased to meet you, Finn.
Yeah, you as well, Max.
I don't think I've been to the Anaheim office, but I heard it's a great bunch of people.
Now let's go through the dialogue again and look at the language and techniques Amber uses in her conversation.
Max, where have you been hiding?
Oh, hey, Amber.
Yeah, I've been hanging out with Dave and Annette over by the bar.
Ah, the gang's all here then.
Hey, I gotta say, you look great, Max.
Not every day I see you in a tie.
It's clear from how Amber greets Max that they are friends.
She doesn't say hello Max, or it's a pleasure Max, as she might have if it was someone she didn't know.
She just says, Max, before the friendly question, where have you been hiding?
And in his response, Max uses hey instead of hello, which we only do with people we're familiar with.
After their initial greeting, Amber wants to pay Max a compliment, like we often do in this kind of social situation.
Typically we make a positive statement about the way someone looks, as Amber does with you look great, Max.
And a comment on him wearing a tie.
Notice too that she introduces this with hey, I gotta say which is an informal way of emphasizing an opinion.
Of course, complimenting someone on appearance is considerate, but you need to make sure it's a simple, light and positive comment.
Let's practice some more ways to compliment someone on how they look in a social situation.
Have you lost weight?
You're sure looking trim.
You're looking absolutely gorgeous tonight, Sue.
That's a cool shirt.
Is it new?
Wow, Tom.
You sure clean up nicely.
Now, how does Max respond to the compliment?
Thanks.
And you're looking pretty great yourself.
Having fun?
Yeah.
The meal was better than the normal office party fare, that's for sure.
I was sitting with this group from San Diego.
You probably heard them over there.
They're a real riot.
Yeah, I think I know one of them.
Gordon or something.
Good guy.
Anyway, what are you drinking?
Can I get you something from the bar?
Oh, thanks, Max.
But I'm okay for now.
A bit too much wine with dinner, and I've got to drive later.
When someone compliments you, it's polite to respond in kind with a compliment of your own, as Max does.
Of course, Max and Amber are friends.
But, just as with people we don't know well, we tend to talk first about our current situation or surroundings.
For this reason, Max asks Amber if she's having fun.
But notice again his short and informal way of asking.
Rather than, are you having fun this evening?
He just says, having fun?
In casual conversation, we need to give just the right amount of detail.
Too much, and we sound boring.
Not enough, and we sound rude.
Amber responds to Max's question with an informal yeah, followed by just a few details about the food and who she's been sitting with.
At this point, Max wants to offer Amber a drink, but he still has to respond to what she's just said.
So he keeps his comments brief, which signals he doesn't want to pursue the topic at length, and then transitions to his question with the word anyway.
When we see colleagues socially, it's polite to offer to buy each other drinks.
But what if you don't want to drink, like Amber?
You need to decline the offer.
Amber does this with a thanks but sentence and she gives a couple of reasons for not really wanting a drink.
It's very important to say thank you when declining a drink, as you'll notice in the following examples.
Oh, thank you, but I don't drink.
I'd love to, but I have to drive.
Thanks, but no thanks.
I'm good for now.
Now, let's get back to the dialogue.
Fair enough.
So, you all ready for Christmas?
Are you kidding me?
Honestly, Max, this feels like the first time I've left the office in over a month.
This holiday madness is going to kill me, I swear.
Ain't that the truth?
Max's expression fair enough is a simple way of saying I understand and that he's not going to try to persuade her.
To get to his next question about being ready for Christmas, Max transitions with a simple, so you will notice that Amber responds by lightly complaining about how busy she's been.
You'll often hear mild complaining in social conversations between friends and to support each other, we often use informal expressions of agreement like ain't that the truth?
At this point, Amber and Max have gone through the basic pleasantries at the start of a conversation.
They've complimented each other, offered a drink, and commented on the season.
Max has just agreed with Amber's comments, but he hasn't asked anything more about the holiday season.
So now it's Amber's turn to lead the conversation.
What did she talk about?
But at least we've got a couple of fresh faces on the team.
Like that new guy from Portland, Finn.
He's got some really crazy ideas.
But good ones.
I mean good crazy.
A real breath of fresh air.
Of course, in social situations with colleagues, we often talk about recent work issues.
Amber brings up the fresh faces, or new employees, on her team.
And she mentions one in particular named Finn.
Amber calls Finn's ideas crazy, which means they're new and different, which could be good or could be bad.
She explains that she means the good kind of crazy which she emphasizes with the expression a breath of fresh air.
A breath of fresh air is someone or something that is exciting and new, or refreshingly different.
In this way, Amber is gently gossiping.
It's not a bad or mean-spirited kind of gossiping.
It's just talking about other people at work, which is what a lot of social conversations turn to.
What are some other ways and topics for work gossip?
Let's run through some more examples.
So, did you hear about Jane's accident last week?
Lou's holding a big company anniversary event tonight.
Everyone's going.
Apparently, Derek hasn't met his quota in over three months.
From what I hear, the new phone is going to be even bigger than the galaxy.
So, does Max know this new colleague named Finn?
New guy from Portland, eh?
Don't think I know him.
Well, he's definitely the best of the new bunch.
But anyway, I've been meaning to ask you about that whole Arizona condo thing.
Did you actually buy an old place?
Remember that good conversation is like a dance, in which we move back and forth smoothly between topics without staying on one topic for too long.
When Max says, don't think I know him, about Finn, Amber doesn't go on about him.
She just makes a simple comment and then keeps the conversation light and social by transitioning to a new topic with a simple expression, but anyway.
In the dance of conversation we often keep things moving by switching topics, but we can't do it without some kind of transition expression.
Let's try some of these useful expressions for switching topics.
Speaking of work troubles, I guess Brian might not be with us for much longer.
Hey, so how about those Giants?
Can you believe that game last night?
Now, Amber asks Max about a condo or apartment unit that he was thinking of buying in Arizona.
Let's hear how Max responds.
I sure did.
It's kind of a dump now, but not for long.
I've got big plans for it.
How on earth do you find the time to do all that?
I have my hands full with just one house.
But hey, speak of the devil, there's Finn.
Finn, hey!
We were just talking about you.
Hi, Amber.
All good, I hope?
While Max and Amber are talking about his new condo in Arizona, Amber sees Finn, the new co-worker she was talking about.
In this situation, we can say, speak of the devil.
It doesn't mean anything bad about Finn.
It just means there's the person we were just talking about.
Amber may not know Finn extremely well, but she still calls him over in the same informal way.
She greeted Max by saying Finn and using hey.
Sometimes we use informal language to make someone feel more comfortable, even if we don't know them too well.
Now, what should amber do next?
Remember that max hasn't actually met finn before, and it's amber's responsibility in the conversation to introduce them.
Let's hear how she does this.
Yeah, of course so finn.
This is max delaney.
He's in marketing too, but works out of anaheim.
Max, this is finn burton.
Amber's introduction is quite simple.
She says one person's name, then introduces the other with this is.
Next, she repeats the pattern, switching the names.
So if Amber were introducing Max to her new friend Shelly, she could say, Max, this is Shelly.
Shelly, this is Max.
Now that Max and Finn are officially introduced, they can carry on their own conversation.
Let's run through some more ways of introducing two strangers.
Brad, I'd like to introduce you to Terry Lake.
Gwen, Tony.
Tony, Gwen.
I'd like you to meet Walter Joe.
Walter, this is Mark Hurley.
Please to meet you, Finn.
Yeah, you as well, Max.
I don't think I've been to the Anaheim office, but I heard it's a great bunch of people.
Amber has shown us some very useful and common techniques for making conversation at an office party with someone you know quite well and for introducing people who don't know each other.
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 at an office party, chatting with a colleague.
You need to start by paying your colleague a compliment.
Then you'll say no to a drink offer and start a bit of gossip.
Finally, you'll change the topic.
At each step, you'll hear a prompt spoken by your colleague.
Then I'll give you some suggestions for the language you can use.
We'll guide you through each step in the practice and play an example answer for each response.
Ready?
Let's give it a go.
Oh, hi.
How's your evening?
Start by responding to the question and complimenting your colleague's looks.
Example answer.
I'm having a really good time.
Thanks.
You're looking great tonight.
Wow, that's nice of you to say.
Can I get you something to drink?
Now, decline your colleague's offer by saying you have to drive.
Example answer.
I'd love to, but I have to drive.
Okay, I understand.
Now, start a bit of gossip about a co-worker called Leslie getting promoted.
Example answer.
So, did you hear that Leslie got promoted?
Seriously?
Well, I guess she was next in line for a manager's position.
Now agree and then change the topic to the upcoming holiday season.
Example answer yes, she deserved it.
So are you getting excited about the holidays?
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 a word replaced with a beep.
Repeat each sentence, including the missing word.
For example, if you hear Well, I'd have to say that the second design is the best of the, You can say Well, I'd have to say that the second design is the best of the bunch.
After each response, we'll play the correct answer.
Let's begin.
There's Daniel right now.
Answer.
Speak of the devil.
There's Daniel right now.
Answer.
I'd like to help you out, but I have my hands full with a new project.
That new project manager sure is a breath of fresh... Isn't she?
Answer.
That new project manager sure is a breath of fresh air, isn't she?
We're going to have to work hard to finish on time today.
That's for...
Answer.
We're going to have to work hard to finish on time today, that's for sure.
We've reached the end of this lesson, the second in our series about socializing at an office party.
We've learned how to pay a compliment, decline a drink, and make light gossip.
We've also looked at how to change the topic and introduce two people.
Thanks for listening and see you again soon.
