English for Socializing | Social English

Business English Socializing Lessons

Uncategorized / March 1, 2006

All BEP lessons for socializing in English.

Our Social English lessons cover a range of topics related to socializing in a professional context. These lessons provide learners with practical tips, strategies, and vocabulary to communicate effectively in various situations, such as networking events, parties, and business dinners. Each lesson focuses on a specific aspect of socializing, such as making introductions, small talk, and business etiquette. Build confidence in socializing in English, and create meaningful connections with colleagues and clients.

All our social English lessons are listed below with the latest lessons at the top.

BEP 400 – Socializing with Colleagues 1: Meeting New People

Advanced, Business English, Socializing / September 10, 2023

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English for socializing with your colleagues. In this lesson we’re going to learn how to socialize with colleagues you’re meeting in-person for the first time.

What do you talk about when you meet someone new or see your colleagues socially? Some outgoing people apparently never have to think about it. They’re just natural socializers and feel comfortable with small talk. For most of us though, making small talk with new people or co-workers feels uncomfortable at best, or painful at worst. But it doesn’t have to be.

We call it “small talk” because it’s light, simple, and informal conversation. It’s not serious, deep, or overly formal. Small talk is often about personal matters, but not too personal if it’s at work. We often talk about places or things that are safe and avoid controversial topics. And there’s a flow to small talk that can be tricky to master. Your comments can’t be too short, or you’ll seem rude. But if they’re too long, people will lose interest.

So what can you talk about if you’re meeting colleagues for the first time at say a conference or a company retreat? Well, some key topics include your name and job, of course, but also places and travel. And key strategies include building on other people’s comments, making guesses or inferences, and using unfinished sentences to invite other people to speak. With a handle on these approaches, you can comfortably chat socially with your colleagues.

In today’s dialog, we’ll hear a conversation at a company retreat. People from a large company are gathering for meetings and team-building. We’ll hear Michelle, Jen, and Ryan meet each other for the first time. In their conversation, you’ll hear the topics and strategies that I just mentioned.

Listening Questions

1. What information does Jen give in her short personal introduction?
2. What comment or fact given by Michelle does Jen build on with a further comment?
3. What does Jen ask Ryan about once he has introduced himself?

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Skills 360 – Socializing 2: Following up with Contacts

Business English, Business Skills 360, Socializing / July 5, 2021

Welcome back to the Business English Skills 360 podcast for today’s lesson on networking and following up with new contacts.

Good relationships are cultivated. They don’t just happen on their own. And if you make new business contacts – whether that’s at a conference, a networking event, or on the subway – don’t wait until you run into them by accident again. You need to follow up.

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Skills 360 – Socializing 1: Meeting New People

Business English, Business Skills 360, Socializing / June 20, 2021

Welcome back to the Business English Skills 360 podcast for today’s lesson on socializing and meeting new people.

For some, meeting new people seems to come very naturally. But for most of us, it can be a bit awkward, or intimidating, to walk into a room full of strangers and try to strike up a conversation. Knowing that it’s important to network doesn’t make it easy. And with the return to some sort of normalcy in many countries, there’s even more pressure to beef up our social skills. So where to start?

In this Business English Skills 360 lesson, we’ll look at five ways to boost your confidence and make socializing in English more comfortable:

1. Change your mindset
2. Ask questions
3. Find common areas of interest
4. Make it easy to participate in the conversation
5. Be genuine

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BEP 333 – Business Development 4: Following Up with Partners

Business English, Sales, Socializing / November 17, 2018

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on how to follow up with potential partners.

Everyone knows that business is a competitive world, sometimes brutally competitive. But it’s not all “dog eat dog,” as they say. Good business people know that one of the keys to success is collaboration. You find other people and businesses that are doing great things, and you cooperate so that you both benefit.

In fact, forging good partnerships is an important aspect of business development. And every partnership begins with a conversation in English. Or a few conversations, I should say.

Once you’ve identified someone as a potential partner, you’ll want to follow up, by phone or in person. And that conversation might involve asking about the person’s work activities, before steering the conversation toward your own field of work and what your company is doing. From there, you can carefully move toward the idea of working together. You might even propose a small joint effort to get the partnership going.

In today’s dialog, we’ll hear Nick, a business development executive with Quest HR. Nick is talking to Ian, who works with a management consulting firm. The two met at a conference, and Nick quickly identified Ian’s company as a potential partner. Now Nick is trying to figure out how they might be able to work together.

Listening Questions

1. What does Nick say his company believes is the secret to success?
2. What does Nick suggest Ian do if he’s interested in the work of Nick’s company?
3. What joint effort does Nick propose at the end of the conversation?

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BEP 332 – Business Development 3: Following Up with Prospects

Business English, Sales, Socializing / November 7, 2018

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on following up with prospects.

English for Business development is all about the art of conversation. A smile, some chit chat, and a few good questions should be able to tell you if someone’s worth following up with. And when you do follow up, you’ll need to take your English conversation skills to next level.

When you’re following up with a prospect, you’ll likely start off with some English small talk. But pretty soon you’ll have to steer the conversation toward business. More specifically, you might ask leading questions to get the prospect to talk about their challenges. From there, you can set up solutions, and connect these solutions to their goals. If they have doubts along the way, you’ll need to address them. And if you’re successful, you should be able to arrange a follow-up meeting.

In today’s dialog, we’ll hear Nick, who works in business development for an HR consulting company. He is talking on the phone with Andria, the HR manager for a manufacturing company. Nick met Andria at a conference, and now he’s trying to find out more about Andria’s potential as a customer.

Listening Questions

1. What does Nick say he wants to understand about HR departments?
2. What does Nick say engagement surveys can help with?
3. What doubts does Nick ask Andria to explain in more detail?

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