5 small talk technician for communication with foreign colleagues
- Tutorial
Every English learner must have heard textbook jokes about talking about the weather. In our culture, empty talk, which, in essence, is small talk, is not very accepted. Here's a small talk - another thing. But before it comes to a full conversation, the conversation still needs to be struck up. And if you have a trip abroad, you need to be mentally prepared for the fact that even a trip to the store will not do without small talk there. If you find it difficult to talk about anything and on abstract topics, then this article is for you.
A dialogue about nothing, a non-binding conversation, a relaxed conversation on abstract topics: all these definitions of small talk are to some extent true. But the mentality sometimes does not allow us suddenly for no reason to greet a stranger and note that the weather is terrible today. What already there: with us and a polite smile when communicating with strangers is considered something suspicious. This does not mean that we are all gloomy and unsociable, we just do not like insincere smiles and empty conversations. But only if we have a trip abroad or close communication with foreigners at work, we still have to learn to talk about anything.
By the way, the ability to show interest and direct the person in the right direction can save you from having to speak a lot yourself, and if you are still very shy about your English, then small talk will help you say a few phrases (quite a bit!) And listen to plenty (always useful).
Everything is very simple here. You listen to what they are telling you, and then ask a question with just the help of the auxiliary / modal verb or the verb to be . Consider this technique with examples:
In this case, the auxiliary verb is heard in the first phrase, so there will be no difficulties. Just repeat it with the pronoun you , and you get a question akin to the Russian “Really?”, “Really?”.
Here we do not have an explicit auxiliary verb, but we know that if we have a sentence in Present Simple or Past Simple, then our auxiliary verb is do . You only need to put it in the right shape.
Do not forget that modal verbs do not require any auxiliary, they are auxiliary in themselves.
Also remember the intonation. All echo questions require upward intonation, which shows the interlocutor that you would like to hear the details.
Once you have learned to show interest in the words of the interlocutor using echo questions, you can begin to master the second technique - echo words. This technique has the same goal, but is a point. If the echo question was asked for the whole sentence, then here you need to listen to the keywords and choose those moments that the interlocutor can tell more about.
The echo-word can be repeated both in the format of a question with ascending intonation and in the format of an exclamation with descending. In the first case, you will receive additional information, and in the second, show interest or sympathy, share surprise or delight.
or
In this example, we can choose both a place and a period. After hearing the offer, repeat the keyword with an upward intonation, and the interlocutor will probably tell you which countries he traveled to or why he traveled for so long.
And in this example, the interlocutor can only sympathize, so repeating the time interval will help you to show understanding.
Not a single language can do without interjections, and each language has its own analogue of expressions that are designed to support conversation. True, it all depends on the format of the conversation.
The classic Russian "yep" in English is used not so often, but the word "really?" can express anything: from curiosity to threat. There is only one advice: listen more. Series, films, podcasts and YouTube shows will help you get used to the intonations and understand in which cases it is appropriate to use a particular expression. And here is what the dialog might look like:
By the way, pay attention to the last phrase in this dialog. Usually we are taught that the auxiliary verb does arises only in negatives and questions, but this is not entirely true. Does may appear in the affirmative sentence to enhance the meaning of the verb. In this case, it is translated into Russian as “really”, “really”. Just remember that in such cases the ending –s of the semantic verb will disappear.
Asking questions correctly is an excellent trick to keep the conversation going. At this stage, you can already interfere with all the techniques studied above, adding questions to them so that your conversation sounds more lively. Just in case, remember what special questions are and how to ask them.
Special questions are often called Wh-questions , because the lion's share of these questions begins with the words what, when, where, why, whom . The same category includes all questions with the word how: how often, how many, how much, how far , etc. These questions are asked for additions and circumstances. The scheme of special questions is the same:
Wh-word / How -> auxiliary verb -> subject -> semantic verb -> remaining sentence members
For instance:
Separately, you can bring the question to the subject with the question word who . It would seem the same wh-word , but remember the grammar: in Present Simple and Past Simple there is no auxiliary verb in questions to the subject.
Examples:
To see how special questions can help us in small talk, we can go back to the first examples and change them slightly by mixing several techniques at once.
In English, additional questions are called follow-up questions . You ask such questions, not based on the words of the interlocutor, so this technique is the most difficult for those who began to learn English recently. As a rule, additional questions are still related to the topic of the conversation, but you ask them based on your interests. We will expand one of the previous examples and see how such questions work in action.
So, from repeating a couple of words, you can get to a full conversation. The main thing is to find a topic that will be interesting and acceptable for discussion (if the situation is very formal). Small talk never lasts long, but it can significantly raise the mood for both you and your interlocutors.
We give the readers of the blog a coupon of 500 rubles for buying a subscription, which includes 8 types of training and weekly newsletters about English grammar and vocabulary - Vitamins and Pluses.
And for unlimited and eternal access to all the features of the site there is an All Inclusive tariff (the discount is not valid).
A dialogue about nothing, a non-binding conversation, a relaxed conversation on abstract topics: all these definitions of small talk are to some extent true. But the mentality sometimes does not allow us suddenly for no reason to greet a stranger and note that the weather is terrible today. What already there: with us and a polite smile when communicating with strangers is considered something suspicious. This does not mean that we are all gloomy and unsociable, we just do not like insincere smiles and empty conversations. But only if we have a trip abroad or close communication with foreigners at work, we still have to learn to talk about anything.
By the way, the ability to show interest and direct the person in the right direction can save you from having to speak a lot yourself, and if you are still very shy about your English, then small talk will help you say a few phrases (quite a bit!) And listen to plenty (always useful).
Technique One: Echo Questions
Everything is very simple here. You listen to what they are telling you, and then ask a question with just the help of the auxiliary / modal verb or the verb to be . Consider this technique with examples:
- My family and I have just come back from our vacation in Cambodia.
- Have you?
In this case, the auxiliary verb is heard in the first phrase, so there will be no difficulties. Just repeat it with the pronoun you , and you get a question akin to the Russian “Really?”, “Really?”.
- They went to a business trip last week.
- Did they?
Here we do not have an explicit auxiliary verb, but we know that if we have a sentence in Present Simple or Past Simple, then our auxiliary verb is do . You only need to put it in the right shape.
- She is just five but already can speak two languages.
- Can she?
Do not forget that modal verbs do not require any auxiliary, they are auxiliary in themselves.
Also remember the intonation. All echo questions require upward intonation, which shows the interlocutor that you would like to hear the details.
Technique Two: Echo Words
Once you have learned to show interest in the words of the interlocutor using echo questions, you can begin to master the second technique - echo words. This technique has the same goal, but is a point. If the echo question was asked for the whole sentence, then here you need to listen to the keywords and choose those moments that the interlocutor can tell more about.
The echo-word can be repeated both in the format of a question with ascending intonation and in the format of an exclamation with descending. In the first case, you will receive additional information, and in the second, show interest or sympathy, share surprise or delight.
- I traveled around Latin America for a year .
- For a year?
or
- I traveled around Latin America for a year.
- Latin America?
In this example, we can choose both a place and a period. After hearing the offer, repeat the keyword with an upward intonation, and the interlocutor will probably tell you which countries he traveled to or why he traveled for so long.
- It took me two hours to get here.
- Two hours!
And in this example, the interlocutor can only sympathize, so repeating the time interval will help you to show understanding.
Technique Three: Interjections and Expressions for Expressing Interest
Not a single language can do without interjections, and each language has its own analogue of expressions that are designed to support conversation. True, it all depends on the format of the conversation.
The classic Russian "yep" in English is used not so often, but the word "really?" can express anything: from curiosity to threat. There is only one advice: listen more. Series, films, podcasts and YouTube shows will help you get used to the intonations and understand in which cases it is appropriate to use a particular expression. And here is what the dialog might look like:
- So I was watching that show yesterday, about the ambulance.
- Right.
- They had three really interesting cases and one hoax call.
- Oh yeah?
- Yeah, the cases were all different. There was a car crash and two victims of it, a patient with a stroke and a little girl with fever.
- How terrible!
- It may seem so, but it's very interesting to see the work of these institutions from the inside.
- Really?
- Yes, you never know how the controllers actually respond the calls and distribute them between crews.
- Well, that does sound curious.
By the way, pay attention to the last phrase in this dialog. Usually we are taught that the auxiliary verb does arises only in negatives and questions, but this is not entirely true. Does may appear in the affirmative sentence to enhance the meaning of the verb. In this case, it is translated into Russian as “really”, “really”. Just remember that in such cases the ending –s of the semantic verb will disappear.
Technique Four: Special Issues
Asking questions correctly is an excellent trick to keep the conversation going. At this stage, you can already interfere with all the techniques studied above, adding questions to them so that your conversation sounds more lively. Just in case, remember what special questions are and how to ask them.
Special questions are often called Wh-questions , because the lion's share of these questions begins with the words what, when, where, why, whom . The same category includes all questions with the word how: how often, how many, how much, how far , etc. These questions are asked for additions and circumstances. The scheme of special questions is the same:
Wh-word / How -> auxiliary verb -> subject -> semantic verb -> remaining sentence members
For instance:
Where are you meeting him tonight? Will you be able to help me out?
Separately, you can bring the question to the subject with the question word who . It would seem the same wh-word , but remember the grammar: in Present Simple and Past Simple there is no auxiliary verb in questions to the subject.
Examples:
Who went there with you? Who is appointed instead of him?
To see how special questions can help us in small talk, we can go back to the first examples and change them slightly by mixing several techniques at once.
- She is just five but already can speak two languages.
- Really? What languages does she speak?
- I traveled around Latin America for a year.
- For a year? Why so long?
Technique Five: Additional Questions
In English, additional questions are called follow-up questions . You ask such questions, not based on the words of the interlocutor, so this technique is the most difficult for those who began to learn English recently. As a rule, additional questions are still related to the topic of the conversation, but you ask them based on your interests. We will expand one of the previous examples and see how such questions work in action.
- My family and I have just come back from our vacation in Cambodia.
- Have you? Did you like it?
- Yes! We visited some popular sights.
- I read that they are always crowded, is it true?
- Partially, yes. But they are definitely worth visiting!
- How long did you stay?
- For two weeks.
- Was it enough?
- Yes, we didn't want to dedicate all our time to excursions, so we had enough time to relax as well.
So, from repeating a couple of words, you can get to a full conversation. The main thing is to find a topic that will be interesting and acceptable for discussion (if the situation is very formal). Small talk never lasts long, but it can significantly raise the mood for both you and your interlocutors.
For those who want to pump English
We give the readers of the blog a coupon of 500 rubles for buying a subscription, which includes 8 types of training and weekly newsletters about English grammar and vocabulary - Vitamins and Pluses.
And for unlimited and eternal access to all the features of the site there is an All Inclusive tariff (the discount is not valid).