ELL 2035 – Practical Business English First Meetings, Formal & Informal English, Getting Acquainted

True or False? T i. It is polite to shake someone’s hand when first meeting them. ii. It is impolite to shake a woman’s hand when first meeting them. iii. It is impolite to look someone in the eye when talking to them. iv. It is impolite to call someone Mr. or Ms. if they are older than you. v. It is better to use someone’s last name when you first meet them. vi. Breaking the ice means getting to know someone. vii. It’s rude to ask questions in class. F F F T T F

Questions What should you call the teacher? Scott, Professor, Professor Findlay, Teacher Professor Scott, Mr. Scott, Scott Teacher, 수컷 ii. What’s the opposite of formal (honorific) language? informal language, casual language

Formal or Informal English? It’s best to use formal language when you are… someone in a senior position to you (like your boss; same as in Korea) talking to a stranger regardless of age (like Korea) asking a big favor (like Korea) writing an academic paper or business letter It’s okay to use informal language if you are talking to someone you know, even if they are older than you.

Listen to the conversation. i. What does Sam Eriks say to start the conversation? - “Hello, I don’t think we’ve met…Sam Ericks.” ii. Why do they use their full names when they meet? - To use Mr. or Ms. (or Dr.) and their last name. iii. After they have introduced their names, what topic do they talk about next? - What companies they work for and what their positions are. iv. When you first meet someone (in a business setting), what should you do? - Shake their hand v. What four pieces of information does he give when he introduces two people? - Their names and positions (Lynn Chen, Sales Manager and Victor Tang, Regional Rep)

Role Playing In groups of 3 assign each member either A, B or C On page 2, read through the script with your own information Use your imagination to create some information When you have finished, switch roles in your group

Getting Acquainted i. What is a good way to break the ice? ii. What topics are ‘safe’ to talk about (for small talk)? iii. What topics should you not discuss? iv. What if you met this person at a conference abroad, what other topics could you discuss?

Conversation 2 E. Listen to the dialogue and answer the questions How does Sue break the ice? - “Is anyone sitting here? My feet are killing me.”  ii. What question does Walter ask Sue to keep the conversation going?  - Have you been here long? Where have you come from? Is this your first… iii. Where has Sue come from? (as opposed to “Where are you from?”)  - They’re travelling and meeting abroad at a business conference. She may be from the host country. iv. Does Sue answer just ‘yes’ or ‘no’? Why (not)? - To show interest in having a conversation. v. How does Walter end the conversation? - “There is someone I must talk to…it’s been very nice to talk to you…I’m Walter by the way.”

Role Playing In groups of 2-3 assign each member either A or B On page 4, read through the script with your own information Use your imagination to create some information When you have finished, switch roles in your group