Networking and small talk. Small talk refers to casual conversations that people have in order to pass the time and get to know each other. It can help you develop social connections with co-workers and business associates. Small talk is light and easy conversation, usually about simple topics like the weather, sports, travel, hobbies and current events. Avoid getting too deep into potentially controversial or personal topics like religion, politics, health problems, romantic relationships, salary, etc. Here are some good conversation starters. You can comment on the weather. Beautiful day, isn't it? It looks like it's going to rain or snow. Sure is a hot one today or sure is a cold one today. You can also ask about the other person's current activities or plans. How's your day going? What have you been up to lately? Any plans for the weekend or how was your weekend? Depending on whether the weekend is in the near future or the recent past.

I'm looking for a good movie to see, book to read or restaurant. Got any recommendations? You can also mention current events as long as they're not too controversial. Did you see the football game last night? Are you following and then say a sports competition or TV show? Are you following American Idol? Did you catch the news today? Did you hear that or did you hear about? For example, did you hear that the mall in Woodbury is closing? Did you hear about the scandal at the movie awards? When you answer a question, give one or two additional details and or ask a question in return. This will provide material for continuing the conversation. So here's a bad example. Any plans for the weekend? No. Oh, I'm planning on going to the local music festival on Saturday. That's interesting. What kind of music do you like? Jazz. The one word answers shut down the conversation, but here's a good example. Any plans for the weekend? Nothing special. I'm actually hoping to catch up on some housework. How about you?

I'm planning on going to the local music festival on Saturday. That's interesting. I've never been to that. Maybe I can make some time to stop by. It's really nice. You should come in the afternoon. That's when the best bands are on stage. What kind of music do you like? Jazz. Especially instrumental. I once tried to learn to play the saxophone, but I wasn't very good at it. Oh well, I took piano lessons when I was a kid, but it was only because my mother made me. The addition of one or two extra details helps the conversation develop. Another small talk strategy is to try to find things you might have in common with the other person. This helps establish a connection between the two of you. For example, beautiful day, isn't it? Sure is. I'm going to take my dog out for a walk as soon as I get home from work. Oh, you have a dog? Me too. Mine's a golden retriever. I have a German shepherd. We adopted him from an animal shelter last year.

Did you have any issues training him? My dog's pretty well behaved now, but she was definitely mischievous when she was a puppy. Networking refers to interacting with other people with the goal of exchanging information, making business connections, and improving your career. Industry conferences and events are good places to network. There might also be local events and meetups held specifically for networking, like a monthly lunch for real estate agents, or a regular meetup of people working in finance. To introduce yourself to someone, you can use one of these phrases. It's common to say your name and your company or the industry you work in. I don't think we've met. I'm Shayna from Espresso English. I'm Jack Smith of the Boston Consulting Group, and you are? Hi there. I'm Sarah Jones. I own several coffee shops in Atlanta. I'm Paul. I'm an accountant at Baylor Pharmaceuticals. How about you?

Another possibility is to join a conversation that's already in progress. For example, if you see a group of three people chatting, you can say, hi there. Can I join you? And they will probably welcome you in and mention the topic of conversation. If you're at a conference, asking someone else's opinion of the event is a great way to start talking. Here are some phrases for that. Are you enjoying the conference so far? So what did you think of that session? That was an interesting presentation. I especially liked the marketing strategies. These questions and phrases can start conversations about work and help you gather more information. What's it like to work at and then say the name of the other person's company? How did you get started in that line of work? That's an interesting field. Where did you study?

I'd love to know more about, for example, I'd love to know more about how you keep your shipping costs down. What do you think about? For example, what do you think about the new health insurance laws? How are things going at the company? What kinds of things are you working on right now? Do you have any exciting projects on the horizon? On the horizon means in the future. When you want to end a conversation, you can use one of these signal phrases. Listen, it was nice talking to you. Hey, it was great to meet you. Anyway, I should let you go. These are polite expressions that show you want to bring the conversation to a close. If you want to contact this person again in the future, use one of these phrases. I'd love to talk a little more. Could I get your number or could I get your email address? Let me know the next time you're in New York.

Maybe we could get together later. Here's my card. Feel free to get in touch any time. After meeting people at a networking event, it's good to follow up. Contact them again to continue their relationship. A good way to do this is to remind the person where you met and express that you enjoyed the conversation. Then you can ask a question, share further information, or make a request. For example, hi, Tara. It was great to meet you at the Travel Expo. I really enjoyed hearing about your work in designing luxury trips to Asia. You mentioned that your company is interested in expanding into Europe and my company has several contacts in France that might be very useful. If you'd like to explore this further, please let me know a day and time that you'd be available for a phone call.

Dear Dr. Jones, it was a pleasure talking with you at the University Dinner and I appreciate you taking the time to give me advice about my career path. I'm very impressed by your work in particle physics and I would welcome the opportunity to learn more about this field. Would you be able to meet with me sometime over the next couple weeks? You can click on the link in the lesson text for more examples of follow-up messages. When you're an English learner, networking and making small talk can feel intimidating and you might prefer to stay quiet. However, building relationships is a wonderful thing for your career. You can use the phrases and tips in this lesson to interact with confidence. Now try the quiz to practice and review these phrases.

This concludes the listening material about business English courses on presentations, meetings, negotiations, and phone calls collected by Xiaowu from Qicai.com. I hope you gained something from it!