How To Make Small-Talk At A Business Meeting - Business English (Free PDF included)
Summary
TLDRThis interactive lesson teaches effective small talk for business meetings. It covers three scenarios: conversing with a well-known colleague, someone from a different department, and a first-time meeting. The lesson includes dialogues and examples for starting conversations, such as discussing recent events, work updates, or personal experiences. It also provides tips for engaging with others and encourages practice to improve communication skills in a business context.
Takeaways
- 😀 Start small talk by asking about a known event or plan, such as a recent presentation.
- 🗣️ Practice dialogues to get comfortable with conversation starters like discussing work presentations.
- 🤝 Use open-ended questions to engage in conversation, for example, asking about someone's workload.
- 🔍 Inquire about departmental updates or changes to keep the conversation relevant and interesting.
- 🏢 When meeting someone from a different department, ask about their current projects or challenges.
- 🌐 For new acquaintances, use general topics like recent weather or events to initiate conversation.
- 👋 Greet someone you've only communicated with digitally by expressing excitement to finally meet in person.
- 🏨 Ask about their travel and accommodation to show care and make the other person feel welcomed.
- ⏰ Use the opportunity to schedule a follow-up chat during a break to continue building rapport.
- 💡 Encourage further engagement by asking open-ended questions about their experiences or opinions.
Q & A
What is the main focus of the interactive lesson?
-The main focus of the interactive lesson is to teach how to make small talk at the start of a business meeting.
How many different scenarios are discussed in the lesson?
-There are three different scenarios discussed in the lesson.
What is the first scenario presented in the lesson?
-The first scenario is how to make small talk with a colleague you know well.
What is an effective way to start a conversation with a colleague as demonstrated in the first scenario?
-An effective way to start a conversation is by asking about a recent event or something that you knew was planned or coming up, such as a presentation.
What are some additional conversation starters suggested for the first scenario?
-Additional conversation starters for the first scenario include asking about upcoming events like a trade show, inquiring about a contract, or mentioning a colleague's promotion.
What is the second scenario about?
-The second scenario is about making small talk with someone from a different department whom you don't know very well.
How does Gunter initiate the conversation in the second scenario?
-Gunter initiates the conversation by asking if the other person is busy these days, which is a simple and effective way to start a conversation in this situation.
What is the third scenario presented in the lesson?
-The third scenario is about starting a conversation with someone you haven't met before.
How does Javi start the conversation with Alexis in the third scenario?
-Javi starts the conversation by saying 'It's great to finally put a face to the name,' which is a good conversation starter for meeting someone in person for the first time.
What are some conversation starters suggested for the third scenario?
-Some conversation starters for the third scenario include asking about the person's trip, the weather in their hometown, or if it's their first time in a particular location.
What is the instructor's invitation to the audience at the end of the lesson?
-The instructor invites the audience to share their own conversation starters in the comments and to watch more lessons for learning additional small talk phrases for business.
Outlines
🗣️ Small Talk Strategies for Business Meetings
This paragraph introduces an interactive lesson focused on small talk at the beginning of business meetings. It outlines three different scenarios for conversation, starting with a dialogue between colleagues who know each other well. The dialogue includes questions about a recent presentation and the boss's reaction, followed by inquiries about other colleagues and meetings. The lesson emphasizes the importance of asking about planned or upcoming events to initiate conversation. Additional conversation starters are provided, such as discussing a trade show, a contract, or personal updates like promotions. The paragraph concludes with a suggestion to practice the dialogue out loud, highlighting the effectiveness of asking about shared knowledge or experiences to foster engagement.
🌐 Engaging with New and Familiar Faces
The second paragraph delves into scenarios for starting conversations with less familiar colleagues or entirely new contacts. It presents a dialogue between two individuals from different departments who have not had regular interactions. The conversation begins with a general inquiry about current workload, leading to discussions about new hires and upcoming trade shows. The paragraph also includes examples of conversation starters suitable for meeting someone for the first time, such as comments on the weather or traffic. The lesson suggests practicing these dialogues to improve small talk skills in business settings. It concludes with prompts for further conversation, encouraging participants to think of additional openers and to engage in discussions during breaks, emphasizing the value of personal touches and common experiences in building rapport.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Small talk
💡Business meeting
💡Scenario
💡Dialogue
💡Colleague
💡Presentation
💡Department
💡Trade show
💡Promotion
💡Conversation starter
Highlights
Introduction to the interactive lesson on making small talk at the start of a business meeting.
Exploration of three different scenarios for making small talk with colleagues.
Practice dialogue between Kathy and Simon discussing a recent presentation.
Use of 'so' to initiate conversation and inquire about a colleague's presentation.
Example of asking about the boss's reaction to continue the conversation.
Inquiry about Paul's attendance as a way to extend the dialogue.
Additional conversation starters for discussing known events or plans.
Dialogue between Gunter and Stephanie about departmental activities and busyness.
Suggestion to ask about the other person's workload to keep the conversation flowing.
Discussion on preparing for a trade show as a topic for small talk.
Using general questions about the weather or traffic as conversation openers.
Dialogue between Javi and Alexis, who have not met in person before, focusing on meeting for the first time.
Using 'It's great to finally put a face to the name' as an effective conversation starter.
Inquiry about the ease of finding the location as a welcoming conversation topic.
Suggestion to discuss the hotel stay and overall travel experience.
Encouragement for further conversation during breaks in the meeting.
Additional conversation starters related to business, travel, and personal experiences.
Invitation for viewers to share their own conversation starters in the comments.
Recommendation of further lessons for learning more small talk phrases for business.
Transcripts
hi everybody in this interactive lesson
i'm going to show you how to make small
talk at the start of a business meeting
we're going to look at three different
scenarios and for each one we'll
practice a short dialogue together then
i'll show you lots of extra examples of
how to get a conversation going
and our first scenario is how to make
small talk with a colleague you know
well
so how did your presentation go the
other day oh yeah it went pretty well
thanks i was a bit nervous at the start
but after a few minutes i felt quite
comfortable great and what did the boss
say
well he didn't say anything but i got
the impression he was happy with it good
for you
thanks
do you know if paul is going to be at
this meeting
let's go back to the start of this
dialogue
kathy uses so to get started and then
she asks simon how his presentation went
this is a great way to start the
conversation asking about something that
you knew was planned or coming up
and now let's practice the dialogue
together you read the white text that's
kathy's part and i'll read the black
text simon's part as soon as you see the
dialogue you can begin and remember to
read out loud let's try it
oh yeah it went pretty well thanks i was
a bit nervous at the start but after a
few minutes i felt quite comfortable
well he didn't say anything but i got
the impression he was happy with it
thanks
excellent and now let's look at some
other ways to start a conversation in
this scenario
are you going to the trade show in dubai
next month
any news on the harrison contract
so these two conversation starters are
similar to the ones in the dialogue
asking about things that you know are
going on or planned
and one more example did you hear that
tanya got promoted
and now some more general examples
did you watch the match last night
did you do anything interesting at the
weekend
how's the family
in this scenario we'll see an example of
how to make small talk with someone you
don't know very well for example someone
from a different department
and that you don't have regular contact
with
are you busy these days
yeah actually we've just hired three new
assistants and i'm training them in at
the moment oh so you have your hands
full
yeah pretty much what about you how are
things going in your department we're
also quite busy at the moment preparing
for the big trade show in milan next
month oh yeah of course i know there's a
lot of work involved in that absolutely
so what are the new assistants like
and now let's go back to the start of
this dialogue
gunter starts the conversation with
are you busy these days which is a very
simple but effective way to start a
conversation in this situation
and now let's act out this dialogue
together you read gunter's pad in white
and i'll read stephanie's part in black
as soon as the dialogue appears you can
begin
yeah actually we've just hired three new
assistants and i'm training them in at
the moment
yeah pretty much what about you how are
things going in your department
oh yeah of course i know there's a lot
of work involved in that
are you working on anything interesting
at the moment
i heard there's been quite a few changes
in your department recently
are you still in touch with klaus berger
in this last example imagine that
klausberger is someone that you both
know and worked with before
i wonder if this rain is ever going to
stop
did you have a nice easter
and one more example the traffic was
crazy this morning
this one is very similar to starting a
conversation about the weather it's very
general and if you know the other person
drives to work and the traffic really
was bad it's another way to get a
conversation going
in this scenario we'll see an example of
how to start a conversation with someone
you haven't met before
it's great to finally put a face to the
name
yeah absolutely it's great to meet you i
hope you didn't have any trouble finding
us no no trouble at all just a short
walk from my hotel actually
perfect where are you staying the four
seasons ah yes that's a pretty good
hotel yeah all good so far
oh it looks like we're getting started
let's chat again during the break
great let's do that
so in this scenario javi and alexis have
had email and telephone contact before
they know each other but they've never
met face to face
javi starts off with it's great to
finally put a face to the name this is a
great conversation starter for this
situation javi also follows up with i
hope you didn't have any trouble finding
us which is a typical thing to say to
someone who is visiting you at your
offices for the first time
and now let's practice this one together
you read javi's part and i'll read
alexis
yeah absolutely it's great to meet you
no no trouble at all just a short walk
from my hotel actually
the four seasons
yeah all good so far
great let's do that
how's business
and if you know that the person's
company is having a successful period at
the moment you can say
i believe business is going well
and another example
thanks for making the time to be here
today i hope the traffic wasn't too bad
how was your trip
is this your first time in delhi
how's the weather back in stuttgart
do you know any other conversation
starters for these situations
if you do let me know in the comments
and if you like this lesson and want to
learn lots more great small talk phrases
for business watch these lessons next
you
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