Often the first few minutes of a conversation with foreign visitors can be rather difficult, particularly when people don't know each other well. A good way to get a conversation going is to ask questions. However, these questions must be of a general nature so that your visitors can answer them easily without embarrassment.
The topics you could discuss when starting a conversation depends on your relationship with the visitors, how frequently you meet each other and whether they live in Hong Kong or are visiting from overseas. Here are some suggestions:
Flight
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How was your flight? Did you have a good flight? Who did you fly with? When did you arrive? |
Previous visits
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Is this your first visit to Hong Kong? Have you been to Hong Kong before? When did you come here? Was it for business or pleasure? |
Plans
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How long are you going to stay here? How long are you planning to stay? |
Accommodation
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Where are you staying? What's your hotel like? |
Weather
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What's the weather like in London? It's been very humid this week, hasn't it? It's a beautiful day, isn't it? |
Visitor's country
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Where are you from? Which part of England are you from? Whereabouts in the States do you live? |
Note that when developing a conversation with a visitor of any type, it is important that you do not jump from one subject to another subject too suddenly.
It is also important that you respond and show interest to what they have said. If you are silent, your visitor may think that you don’t understand or that you aren’t interested, or that your questions have been rehearsed and are not sincere.
Topics to be avoided
Topics of conversation that should be avoided include:
- personal relationships
- health
- diets
- personal tragedies
- cost of anything personal
- income/salary
- politics or religion
- talking too much about yourself