Summer’s a great time for meeting new people, whether it’s during your vacation, when a new colleague joins your team, or at your first PTA meetings of the year (since a lot of American schools start back in August!)
Sometimes, it’s not always easy to know the codes, to know what to say, or how to continue the conversation.
This week, let’s up your small talk skills!
The Secret Meaning of “Let’s Get Together”
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If you’ve ever had a friendly conversation with Americans, you’ve surely heard phrases like these:
- “Yeah, it was good talking to you. We should go out for lunch one day!”
- “Let’s get together for a drink some time.”
- “If you’re ever in San Francisco, give me a call.”
You think “Great! I’m going to have an American friend!”
And then, nothing happens. They never contact you to organize dinner or drinks. And you wonder what went wrong.
Let’s find out…
This episode will help you save a lot of social embarrassment, and better “decode” what Americans really mean.
How to Answer “How Are You?”
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If there’s one question that you will hear ALL the time, it’s “How are you?” (Or other variations: “How you doing?”, “Hey, what’s up?”, “How’s it going?”)
Do you know how to answer it correctly?
I’m not talking about the correct grammar or vocabulary, but the “correct” response, what is socially expected...
You’ll see that the answer is really quite simple, so you don’t fall into the trap of giving a “real” answer!
3 Communication Codes in American Business
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You may think that you know American culture from all the Hollywood movies and TV series, but it’s more subtle than you think.
How do you situate yourself in the hierarchy when everyone seems super friendly (even your boss)?
How much small talk should you make?
What does it mean when your client interrupts you by saying “get to the point”?
If you’re not sure of the answers, this episode is for you!
Think of this episode as your “cultural decoder” to help you succeed when you work with Americans.
One HUGE cultural code is small talk. We make small talk with everybody. And it can make a BIG difference in your career, or how your friends & neighbors perceive you.
As one student in my Successful Small Talk Course said “All this small talk is not normal for me. I don’t know how much I should say!”
After seeing the revision videos, you know that there are nuances that you never learned in school. You can learn them by making mistakes, or you can learn them with an easy-to-follow roadmap that teaches you the nuances, expressions, and techniques to feel comfortable making small talk.
You’ll see, it’s much easier to create connections when you can make good conversation in English.
In today’s revision, you learned some very practical tips you can use today. But what if you want to go further and:
- learn more nuances of conversation, like you did today’s revision?
- know immediately how to respond in everyday conversations, like a native?
- be sure that you’re using the right words, expressions, and tenses for the situation?
Then my course Successful Small Talk is for you.
And good news!
Exceptionally, this course is available for just 4 days, until Friday August 17.
Click here to see how it helps you feel comfortable with small talk in English
This week, I’m on vacation in Bordeaux, learning more about the history of the area, and of course the legendary wines produced here. I love learning new things during the summer, and I thought you might want to as well.
That’s why we’ve decided to open the Successful Small Talk Course to you for a few days.
And when you join, you have access for life. You can start now, or when you’re ready.
Want to try a full lesson first? Go here.
Aren’t summer surprises the best?
Have fun,
Christina
P.S. Like I said, the course is available only until Friday, so don’t miss it! Click here to join today.
Yes, Americans are superficial. Ha ha