Small Talk: B1+

● site plan: Can I have a quick look at your site plan? I’m looking for the information desk.

● venue: This is a fantastic venue.

Next steps

Be prepared for a conference or event. You will need to make preparations anyway, but try to think about how you can use these preparations to improve your small talk at the event. Before you go:

● find out what the weather will be like so that you can think about the kind of tag questions you could use to start a conversation.

● look up the names of the speakers. Conference programmes often have photographs of the speakers too. You might see these people during the break and have a chance to use the key phrase ‘I think I recognize you from the programme’.

● go online and check out the venue. Is there anything special about the building? Did a famous architect design it, for example? Was it used for something else before it was turned into a conference venue? Does it have an interesting history? Is there something interesting about it that you could discuss?

● You may not have time to travel around the city where the conference is taking place, but you might have time to talk about the city with people who know it well. Find out about one or two important places or events before you go so that you can discuss them if you have the chance.

● Make sure you can describe how you travelled to the event. People often like to compare their journeys or their experiences, especially if the conference is somewhere that is difficult to reach.

If you feel prepared, you will feel – and look – more confident when you strike up a conversation.

Go to www.collinselt.com/businessresources to listen to the real-life audio for this chapter.

4 Introducing the business

My goals

• Describe my work briefly and in an interesting way

• Show an interest in others

• Find something in common with others

Study focus

Once you have struck up a conversation with someone, you can move on to talk about work. When they first meet someone, people generally describe their work briefly so that everyone has a chance to talk and learn something about each other. The important thing is to listen for something that you have in common with the person you are talking to and, if possible, to make a comment about it.

Key phrases

Finding a business connection

I see from your name tag that you work for Miles Inc.

Do you work for ABC? / Are you based nearby?

So, what do you hope to get out of this conference?

So, what brings you to this talk?

Showing interest in someone’s work

What line of business are you in?

What (exactly) do you do?

How long have you been working for ABC?

Talking about your career

Well, I’m in finance/marketing/banking/retail.

I’ve been there for four years now. / I’ve been working there since January.

I joined them a year ago. Before that I was with Barks.

I used to work in Russia/sales.

I’m self-employed. / I’m a freelancer.

I’m responsible for/I’m in charge of our website.

I run our online marketing.

Describing your goals for the event

I’m looking for new programmers/suppliers.

I’m here to talk to clients/licensees.

I’m looking into/I’m interested in the latest trends/ copyright issues.

Showing interest and talking about a connection

Really? / That’s interesting. / That must be interesting.

Maybe you know … / Maybe you’ve heard of …

What about you?

Go to www.collinselt.com/businessresources to listen to the key phrases.

Scenarios

Hans: I see you have a Miles Inc. bag. Do you work for them?

Nisha: I used to, and I still use the bag.

Hans: I’m Hans, by the way, Hans Müller. I joined Miles Inc. about a year ago as an engineer.

Nisha: Really? Nice to meet you, Hans. I’m Nisha Parekh. So, what brings you to this conference?

Sylvia: I see from your name tag that you work for ABC.

Raffi: Yes, I do. I work in the Madrid offices.

Sylvia: I work for ABC too, but I’m based here. I’m in finance.

Raffi: Really? Maybe you know Robert Smith.

Sylvia: Of course I do.

Raffi: I used to work with him. Is he here today?

Sylvia: Yes, he is. I’ll call him and ask him to join us.

Raffi: That would be great.

Marco: So, what do you do?

Damien: I work in the energy sector. I’m a designer.

Marco: Really? What exactly do you do?

Damien: I run the company’s advertising campaigns.

Marco: That must be interesting. And what do you hope to get out of this conference?

Damien: I’m looking for new ideas for design software. What about you?

Marco: I’m a freelance programmer.

Go to www.collinselt.com/businessresources to listen to the scenarios.

Over to you

1    Are the statements about the past or the present?

2    Complete the sentences with your own words.

1. I used to work in.....................................................

2. I joined .................................................... ago.

3. I’ve been with .................................................... for ........................................... now.

4. Before I joined ...................................................., I used to be a(n) .....................................................

5. I’ve been working at .................................................... since ............................................

3    Complete the sentences with one word in each gap.

1. I’m in charge...........................................Marketing.

2. I’m responsible...........................................online sales.

3. I’m interested...........................................learning more about copyright laws.

4. I’m looking...........................................the latest trends.

5. I’m here to talk...........................................our suppliers.

4    Put the words in the correct order to make questions. Don’t forget to add punctuation.

1. of / you / what / out / hope / event / to / do / this / get

......................................................................

2. conference / this / so / what / to / brings / you

......................................................................

3. you / business / line / are / what / in / of

......................................................................

4. you / there / been / how / have / working / long

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