II. Now look more closely at the typical sequence of conversation.

Unit I.MEETING PEOPLE

Lesson 1. Early Business Contacts

Warm up

I. Which of the following happens the first time you meet someone?

· I talk too much because I’m nervous.

· I don’t speak at all because I think of anything to say.

· I smile a lot so that the other person likes me.

· I act in exactly the same way as I would with a person I know.

II. Can you remember when and where you met some of the following people for the first time? Tell your teacher what happened.

· • a very good friend

· • your boss

· • a girlfriend / boyfriend

· • a colleague

· • a customer

· • a teacher

Active Vocabulary

Introductions often include these steps:

· Greeting or request for introduction

· Introduction

· Response to greeting

Phrases for introducing yourself:

Greeting	Introduction	Response
Hello Good morning/afternoon How do you do?	Let me introduce myself. My name’s…. I’m ….	Pleased to meet you. I’m …. Nice to meet you. Mine’s…. Glad to meet you. I’m….

Phrases for introducing someone else:

Request for introduction	Introduction	Response
…, could you introduce me to…? …, I haven’t met…. …, I don’t know anyone here. You’ll have to introduce me.	Of course… Let me introduce you to…. I’m sorry… This is …. Of course, I’ll introduce you to…. …, this is …. Let me introduce you two. …, this is ….	(Very) nice to meet you. … …

Note: some introductions are more formal than others. The use of first names indicates informality. In English-speaking cultures, people usually shake hands on first meeting.

It’s very common to present yourself in terms of your job. The job identifies the person.

Question/comment	Filler	Response	Comment/question
What do you do (for a living)? Do you work? What do you do (in the … Department)? I haven’t seen you around before.	Well Oh	I’m in computers. Yes, I’m a fashion designer. I’m on the market research side. I’ve just started with Manders. I’m in the Sales Department.	Not a bad job. That’s interesting. What about you? And you? What do you do there?

I. Invent name, job, and place of work. Practice introductory conversations.

When you meet someone for the first time and start up a conversation, it is important to find points of common interest so that the conversation can run smoothly. Successful conversation depends on finding a topic both people can easily talk about. One way of reaching this point is to follow a number of steps until a topic of common interest is found. A typical sequence might be:

Speaker	Step
A	Opening question
B	Immediate answer
A	Follow-up question
B	Immediate answer
B	Additional comment
A	Next question
A/B	Topic of common interest

II. Now look more closely at the typical sequence of conversation.

1) opening question	Is this your first trip to …? How was your trip?
2) immediate answer	Yes, it is. Fine, thanks.
3) follow-up question	Are you staying long? Business or pleasure?
4) immediate answer	No. Business. Note: these answers are not helpful in finding a common interest. You need to make additional comment.
5) additional comment	But hopefully not my last. Unfortunately only a couple of weeks. Business, I’m afraid. My company is setting up an office here in Tokyo.
6) next question	Have you found time to see much? Really, where is your company based?
7) establishing topic of common interest	Are you interested in gardens? Oh, I visited Detroit a couple of years ago. That’s (What) a coincidence. My wife is in fashion too.

Lexical exercises

I. Complete the introductions according to the phrases from Active Vocabulary:

1. Peter King introduces himself to Jack Simpson:

PKHello,… My name’s Peter King.

JS…, I’m Jack Simpson.

2. Philip introduces Sarah to James:

SPhilip, I … here. You’ll have to ….

POf …, I’ll … to James. He’s an old friend of mine. James, … Sarah, she’s just joined the company.

J…, Sarah. Where do you come from?

3. Rod Burton introduces Pete Taylor to an important customer:

PRod, I … Mr. Rogers, the Purchasing Manager from Kentons.

RI’m … . Come and meet him. Mr. Rogers, Pete Taylor, our Export Sales Manager.

Mr.R …. What countries do you cover?

4. Klaus Fischer introduces himself to an American visitor:

KFHow …? My …. .

AV …. . …. George Cole.

Date: 2015-12-24; view: 1187

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