How to: Make small talk 2

These phrases help you make small talk in social and business situations:


Home town/ country

• Which part of ....(Spain) are you from?
• Where in ....(London) do you live?
• Which part of the city is that?
• Have you always lived in ...(Rome)?
• What's ....(Glasgow) like?

Work

• What do you do?
• Who do you work for?
• Where are you based?
• How long have you been with ...(company name)?

Interests

• What do you do in your spare time?
• How do you spend your weekends?
• Are you interested in ....?
• Do you often travel?
• Where do you go?
• Have you ever been to ....(Brazil)?
• Where did you spend your last holiday?

How to: make small talk

What is SMALL TALK?


These phrases can help you make small talk when welcoming visitors to your company.

The visitor's journey:

• Did you have a good flight / trip?
• How was your journey/trip?
• How long was the flight?
• Did you have any problems finding us?

Accommodation:

• Where are you staying?
• What's your hotel like?
• I hope everything is OK at the hotel?

Word of the week: SmallTalk

Smalltalk or small talk is an idiomatic expression. It is an informal discussion and serves two primary functions. 


The first is to fill in the gaps during awkward (uncomfortable) silences during conversations. 


The second function is to show and generate interest in having a conversation and start engaging the other person in order to start a deeper level of conversation.

How to: Respond to a rude email

It happens to us all - we receive a rude email and we get angry! Easy enough to deal with in your own language, but what about in English? When at work, it is important to keep things cool because you represent your company, and using the wrong words can hurt future business and also your reputation. So instead of responding to a rude email in anger, what can you do?


1.  Do Not Answer Immediately

Take time away from the message if there's not an urgent response deadline. Sleep on it and think about how to react in a way that will show that you are professional. If you need to write something right away, you could write: "Thanks for your message; I'll get back to you shortly" - that way you have acknowledged the email, but not said anything that you will regret later.

2. Start The Email Politely

Polite does not mean the same as friendly or happy!  A simple, "Thank you for your message" can set the right tone. Let the person know that you appreciate the feedback.

3. Offer a Solution

Say that you understand the issue, but then restate your objective. For example: 

"I'm sorry to hear that you don't agree with our new strategy, but our goal is to help the overall organization. I would be happy to discuss things further in order to resolve the problem" 

Again, you may be so angry that you want to shout at this person, but remember that you are at work and the best thing to do is to be professional. 

4. Stand Your Ground

If someone has been rude to you, you do not have to take it! You can be direct and set down boundaries in your message without sounding rude.  Saying something as simple as, "I appreciate your feedback, but think it may be more effective if presented in a more constructive manner," does the trick. It's important to let the person know that while you accept constructive feedback, you are on the job and things need to stay professional. There's nothing wrong with reminding him or her of that. Kindly, of course!

*This article has been re-written to target people who use English as a foreign language. For the original version see: How to Respond to Rude Email at Work | eHow.com