Socializing

BEP 78 INT - Socializing: Discussing Politics

They say there’s one rule of conversation that you should always follow in business - don’t talk about politics, sex or religion. Actually, however, it seems like 90% of casual conversations are about just those things - politics, sex and religion. So in this episode, we’ll be focusing on one of these topics - politics. We’ll be learning some language that will help you cope with this difficult topic.

There’s a trick to talking about politics in business. In international business culture, it’s usually better not to express strong opinions. The focus is generally on the exchange of information rather than on debate, because the main goal is to maintain harmonious relations. Often, we state our opinions non-committally. That means we don’t commit ourselves to an opinion - in other words, we don’t voice a strong view one way or the other. Instead, we prefer to be vague, or ambiguous. This strategy helps avoid conflict.
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(15 votes, average: 4.47 out of 5)

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BEP 77 INT - Happy Hour: After-Work Socializing

In many countries, having a drink after work with colleagues is a popular way to relax: This kind of socializing helps us get to know each other and to build team spirit. To attract customers who are just getting off work, many bars and clubs have a “happy hour.” This is a promotion in the early evening, usually lasting an hour or so, when pubs and bars offer a special prices on drinks, such as “buy one get one free” or “all drinks half price.” So in this business English podcast, we will explore language that we can use to socialize with colleagues during happy hour or during other informal occasions.
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(12 votes, average: 4.42 out of 5)

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BEP 71 ADV - Mergers: Office Gossip and Reported Speech

This is the second in a two-part Business English Podcast lesson that follows some of the internal discussions that take place in a company going through a merger.

Today’s episode focuses on casual office conversation and gossip. Office gossip is a type of informal conversation in which we tell secrets or rumors about other people or other departments. Gossip is often called water cooler chitchat, since the water cooler is where colleagues meet by chance and discuss things that are happening in the office. You might also want to review some of our previous shows on socializing for more language to use in these types of conversations.
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(15 votes, average: 4.47 out of 5)

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BEP 67 INT - Travel: Morning Greeting and Chat

This is the fourth in a series of intermediate business ESL podcasts that focus on business travel. In this series we’re following a group of trainees who work for the telecommunications company Ambient as they visit their head office in Michigan in the U.S.

How do you make friendly chat with your colleagues? What kinds of topics can you talk about? We’ll be looking at some answers. In particular, we’ll cover informal greetings and how to chat about movies. As almost everyone loves to go to the cinema, movies are usually a good topic for small talk.
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(11 votes, average: 4.56 out of 5)

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BEP 63 PP: Indirect Persuasion in a Social Context

Life is actually a constant exercise in persuasion, wouldn’t you say? What I mean is we don’t just need to persuade people in the meeting room; actually, we are constantly using the tools of persuasion across a wide variety of situations ranging from serious to casual. In addition to formal situations, everyday persuasions include when to meet, whether to extend a deadline, and even such common things as where to have lunch or which movie to see.
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(14 votes, average: 4.57 out of 5)

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BEP 45 INT - Socializing: Keeping a Conversation Going

This is the second in a two-part intermediate Business English Pod lesson on the basics of socializing and networking. Last time you learned ways to start and finish a conversation appropriately. Today you’ll be studying how to keep a conversation going by maintaining interest.
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(17 votes, average: 4.59 out of 5)

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