{"id":1959,"date":"2011-10-09T01:29:09","date_gmt":"2011-10-09T09:29:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.businessenglishpod.com\/?p=1959"},"modified":"2023-01-10T19:58:27","modified_gmt":"2023-01-11T03:58:27","slug":"business-english-pod-195-small-talk-before-a-meeting-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/9to5english.com\/wordpress\/2011\/10\/09\/business-english-pod-195-small-talk-before-a-meeting-2\/","title":{"rendered":"BEP 195 &#8211; Small Talk before a Meeting in English (2)"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-1959-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/bizpod\/BEP195-Mob.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/bizpod\/BEP195-Mob.mp3\">https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/bizpod\/BEP195-Mob.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p><a title=\"BEP 195 - Small Talk before a Meeting in English 2\" href=\"https:\/\/businessenglishpod.com\/learningcenter\/Premium2008\/quiz\/BEP195POD\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.businessenglishpod.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/BEP-195-English-Small-Talk-Conversation-2.jpg\" alt=\"English Small Talk Conversation 2\" width=\"1636\" height=\"708\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16312\" srcset=\"https:\/\/9to5english.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/BEP-195-English-Small-Talk-Conversation-2.jpg 1636w, https:\/\/9to5english.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/BEP-195-English-Small-Talk-Conversation-2-300x130.jpg 300w, https:\/\/9to5english.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/BEP-195-English-Small-Talk-Conversation-2-600x260.jpg 600w, https:\/\/9to5english.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/BEP-195-English-Small-Talk-Conversation-2-768x332.jpg 768w, https:\/\/9to5english.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/BEP-195-English-Small-Talk-Conversation-2-1536x665.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1636px) 100vw, 1636px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This is the second of our two-part Business English Pod <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessenglishpod.com\/2011\/10\/02\/business-english-pod-194-small-talk-before-a-meeting-1\/\">lesson on English small talk<\/a>, or casual conversation, in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessenglishpod.com\/category\/meetings\/\" title=\"Business English Meetings\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">business meetings<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Imagine you&#8217;re sitting in a room with several co-workers. You&#8217;re waiting for a meeting to start. Does silence feel comfortable? Probably not. You should be talking. But about what?<\/p>\n<p>Well, this is where the art of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessenglishpod.com\/2006\/03\/01\/all-business-english-socializing-lessons\/\" title=\"Business English Lessons for Socializing\">small talk<\/a> comes in handy. And it&#8217;s not only something we do before a meeting. We use small talk in the airport lounge, on the train, or standing in line for a movie. We use it with colleagues, clients, and acquaintances. And it&#8217;s something that takes practice to do well and feel at ease with.<\/p>\n<p>Previously we looked at some common conversation topics and techniques, including how to handle topics you don&#8217;t know much about. In this lesson we&#8217;ll look at a couple more very common topics: talking about the weather and talking about current events. We&#8217;ll also cover strategies for changing the topic and steering the conversation towards business.<\/p>\n<p>In today&#8217;s dialog, we&#8217;ll rejoin Liz, Coby, and Shawn as they get ready for another meeting. As you might have guessed, their colleague Gordon has yet to arrive so they chat amongst themselves while they wait for him to show up.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Listening Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1.  What does Shawn think about the summer weather?<br \/>\n2.  Why does Coby seem upset or shocked?<br \/>\n3.  How does Liz steer the conversation toward business?<\/p>\n<p>[tp no_translate=&#8221;y&#8221;]<strong>Premium Members: <a href=\"https:\/\/businessenglishpod.com\/learningcenter\/Premium2008\/transcripts\/BEP195SN-Small-Talk2.pdf\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\">PDF Transcript<\/span><\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/businessenglishpod.com\/learningcenter\/Premium2008\/quiz\/BEP195QIZ\/presentation_html5.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\">Quizzes<\/span><\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/businessenglishpod.com\/learningcenter\/Premium2008\/phrasecasts\/BEP195PC.mp3\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\">PhraseCast<\/span><\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/businessenglishpod.com\/learningcenter\/Premium2008\/quiz\/BEP195POD\/index.html\">Lesson Module<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Download: <a href=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/bizpod\/BEP195-Mob.mp3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Podcast MP3<\/a><\/strong>[\/tp]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn Business English for engaging in small talk with you colleagues at work, especially before a meeting in 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