Small Talk

“Results depend on relationships. That’s what Don Petersen says. He is the ex-CEO of America’s Ford Motor Company. You will find that being able to make small talk—especially before a business meeting—will help build good relationships. And, good business relationships will help you get the results you want. Think of small talk as an engraved business card: small but impressive. Impressive, that is, if you do it well.

SITUATION 1

Listen now to small talk used by Dan, who is about to make a presentation featuring his leadership training firm. He especially wants to win approval from Susan Lynch, head of employee relations for a multinational firm. Pay attention to Dan’s manner and manners as well.

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There is a time and a place to talk about employee attitude and performance. Often this is done in an informal situation, sometimes when a manager is new or is taking over a team of new employees. There are many ways of discussing employees and how they are performing.

Let’s listen in as Darlene, the department manager, and her assistant, Richard, discuss a number of employees.

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SITUATION 1

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Introduction

Many of you will be working for international companies where you come into daily contact with foreigners, some of whom will be native English speakers. Whether you’re working face to face with a foreign colleague in your office, or just bump into a foreigner you know in your company canteen, a corridor, a lift or when you are arriving or leaving work, you’ll need to make some conversation. You don’t always need to talk about work although this is what you have in common and it is easier to talk about things that you both know about.

Social conversations are important when you want to build better relationships with people and when you want to develop closer friendships. If you want to become more than just work colleagues, you’ll need to talk about things other than work!

Situation

Marcel and Donna, two colleagues at AEN Publicity, are chatting at the water-cooler. They don’t really know each other very well, but are quite happy to exchange a few words. The conversation is very informal so you may come across some interesting new words and expressions.

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Introduction

Small talk is important because it helps to break the ice. Learn to engage in small talk at job interviews, sales meetings, or other business meetings and encounters.

If it doesn't come naturally to you, take a few minutes beforehand to think of a few topics. You can always talk about the weather! You can ask about a friend, colleague or acquaintance you both know. You can ask someone how long they have lived in the area. Just find something to talk about other than business.

In this podcast lesson, we'll listen in on two social/business encounters. The language in both is quite informal as you might expect in these situations.

Situation 1

You’re now going to hear a conversation between Mark and his boss, Ms Davis. Mark is late for work again and his boss isn't happy with him. Mark is able to use small talk and a bit of humour to soften a difficult situation.

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Introduction

Small talk is essential in business. Whether you’re speaking to a colleague, a client or a customer, a little social chat will help to strengthen the relationship you have with them.

Small talk doesn’t need to be limited to informal situations such as over lunch or dinner. It is most effectively used when meeting someone for the first time, before and after formal meetings and even at the start of business telephone conversations. In these situations, the main purpose of the small talk is to break the ice and help create a more relaxed atmosphere.

In this podcast lesson, you’re going to hear a rather informal conversation between colleagues. The conversation never gets too informal, like it would between close friends; however, the language used is quite colloquial at times. Later on, we’ll look at some of the more informal language and show you how to use it in different contexts.

Situation 

Richard Bent and Cristine Keen are work colleagues. They are having lunch near their office and are discussing the situation related to the new accountant in their department.

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