Читать книгу Small Talk: B1+ - Deborah Capras - Страница 7
ОглавлениеMy goals
⢠Make a good first impression
⢠Greet people Iâve never met before
⢠Check names and help people to remember mine
Study focus
At conferences, networking events and even in the office â wherever you do business â you will meet new people. How do you make a good first impression? A warm, friendly greeting will help you. Using small talk to start a conversation will help too. Try to make sure that people remember you and try to remember them too. You might not hear their name properly the first time, and in this chapter you will learn how to ask people to repeat their name.
Key phrases
Making the first move
I donât think weâve been introduced. My nameâs Hans, Hans Schiller.
Hi, Iâm Mary, Mary Smith.
We havenât actually met, but Iâm Hans Schiller.
May I introduce myself? Iâm Mary Smith.
I donât think weâve met. Iâm Mary Smith.
Giving the right response
Itâs a pleasure to meet you.
Pleased to meet you.
(Itâs) good/great/nice to meet you.
(Itâs) good/great/nice to meet you too.
Checking names
Iâm sorry, but I didnât catch your name.
Iâm sorry, but what was your last name again?
How do you spell your name?
âAthanasisâ. Am I saying it correctly?
Helping people to remember your name
Please, call me John.
Let me give you my (business) card.
Hereâs my (business) card.
Go to www.collinselt.com/businessresources to listen to the key phrases.
Scenarios
| Rena: | Hi, I donât think weâve met. Iâm Rena Chioti. |
| Antonio: | Nice to meet you, Ms Chioti. Am I saying it correctly? |
| Rena: | Yes, but please, call me Rena. |
| Antonio: | Rena. Iâm Antonio, Antonio Messina. |
| Rena: | Good to meet you too, Antonio. How do you spell your name? Is it with double âsâ? |
| Antonio: | Yes, like the city in Sicily. My familyâs from there. |
| Rob: | We havenât actually met, but Iâm Rob Williams. |
| Markus: | Itâs a pleasure to meet you. Iâm Professor Kern, Markus Kern. |
| Rob: | Itâs good to meet you too. |
| Markus: | Iâm sorry, but I didnât catch your last name. |
| Rob: | Itâs Williams, as in Robbie Williams. You know, the singer. Let me give you my business card. |
| Markus: | Thank you. And hereâs mine. |
| Jules: | Hello. I donât think weâve been introduced. My nameâs Jules, Jules Chirac. |
| Sergei: | Oh, Iâm sorry, Jules! Sandra, this is Jules Chirac, our designer in our French office. Jules, this is Sandra Harper. Sheâs with RTV. |
| Sandra: | Nice to meet you, Jules. Iâve seen your work. Itâs impressive. |
| Jules: | Thank you. Thatâs great to hear. Itâs nice to meet you too. |
Go to www.collinselt.com/businessresources to listen to the scenarios.
Over to you
1 Match the sentence beginnings with the sentence endings.
| 1 Iâm sorry, but I 2 Let me give you 3 I donât think weâve 4 May I 5 Itâs a pleasure to | a been introduced. b meet you. c didnât catch your name. d introduce myself? e my business card. |
2 John is talking to Sayuri when Ria joins them. Put the dialogue in the correct order.
| 1 | Ria: | Hello. I donât think weâve been introduced. My nameâs Ria. |
| Sayuri: | Actually, Iâm a fan of your blog, Ria. | |
| John: | Oh, Iâm so sorry, Ria! Sayuri, this is Ria Fisher, our company blogger in London. We work in the same building. | |
| John: | Ria, this is Sayuri Riisa. Sheâs one of our engineers here in Berlin. | |
| Ria: | Itâs great to meet you too, Sayuri. | |
| Sayuri: | Nice to meet you, Ria. | |
| 7 | Ria: | Really? Thank you. Itâs nice of you to say that. |
3 Check your understanding. Answer the questions about the dialogue in exercise 2.
| 1 | Where are they? | |
| 2 | Who works in the UK? | |
| 3 | Who is a writer? | |
| 4 | Who works in Germany? | |
| 5 | Has Ria met John before? | |
| 6 | Does Sayuri know Ria? |
4 Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs in the box.
| catch | give | introduce | meet | say | spell |
1 I donât think we................................
2 âSahindaâ. Am I............................... it correctly?
3 May I............................... myself?
4 Let me............................... you my card.
5 Iâm sorry, but I............................... your last name.
6 Could you............................... your last name for me?
5 Complete the dialogue.
You: (1) (Say that you donât know each other and give your name.) .............................................................................................. ..............................................................................................
Paul: Itâs a pleasure to meet you. Iâm Paul Mathews.
You: (2) (Respond to the greeting and say that you didnât hear Paulâs last name.) .............................................................................................. ..............................................................................................
Paul: Itâs Mathews. But please, call me Paul. Iâm sorry, but how do you spell your name?
You: (3) (Spell your name and offer your business card. If possible, say something about your name to help Paul to remember it.) .............................................................................................. ..............................................................................................
6 Can you say the letters of your name in English?
Language focus: How do you do?
Avoid using the old-fashioned phrase How do you do? It can sound solemn and too formal. If someone does use it to greet you, the fixed response is How do you do?
Remember this! Handshakes
The purpose of a handshake is to show respect and to perform a greeting ritual.
Not everyone shakes hands, but in international business situations and contexts, a handshake when greeting someone is common.
