Nigel Hastings is a director of an intercultural consultancy. Listen to him talking about managing first meeting in different cultures (Recording 3.1).
1. Why does Nigel say it’s important to manage first meetings well when working internationally?
2. What does he describe as the purpose of first meetings in the Arab world?
3. When he goes to China, how does he usually start small talk? Why does this create a positive impression?
4. Why is asking ‘open questions’ important?
Complete these open questions which you could use in a first conversation with a stranger.
1. Job: What do you ………. for a ………. ?
2. Company activity: What ………. of business is your company ……?
3. Work location: Where ………. your company ………. ?
4. Arrival: When ………. you ………. here?
5. Hotel: Where ………. you ……….?
6. Duration: ………. long ………. you ………. for?
7. Travel: How many times ……….you ………. to Russia?
8. Time working for company: ………. long ………. you ………. for your company?
9. Departure: When ………. you ………. ?
7. Closed questions, which require a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer, can also help small talk. One way to ask closed questions is to make a statement followed by a short question tag, for example:
You’ve been to our offices before, haven’t you?
Complete the following closed questions by adding the correct question tag.
1. You’ve met our finance manager, ………. ?
2. Most of your team are based in Hong Kong at the moment, ……….?
3. You took part in the conference call last week, ………. ?
4. The weather’s been great so far this year, ………. ?
5. Don’t forget to text me the name of the restaurant, ………. ?
8. Read about the impact of cultural differences on conversational styles and answer these questions:
1. What is the style of polite small talk for a coconut?
2. What is the style of polite small talk for a peach?
3. How can peaches and coconuts negatively judge each other?
4. The article ends, ‘Perhaps we should become “pea-nuts”. What does this mean?
Are you a peach or a coconut? Check with others in your group to see if they agree with your assessment of yourself.
9. Questions can help to support small talk. However, it is important to choose the right topic. Look at the list of personal and professional topics. Add a few more and brainstorm as many questions as you can for each topic. Aim for a list of 10 or more small-talk questions!
Do you live far from the office? What are you working on at the moment?
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Personal focus: home, family, hobbies / interests, ………………………….......
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Professional focus: work responsibilities, current tasks, developments in the organisation, …………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Now with a partner role play a first meeting with a foreign visitor to your company.
People from different cultures not only speak different languages but also use non-verbal communication in different ways.
1. What is non-verbal communication?
2. What are some examples of non-verbal communication often used by people from your culture?
Listen to four people talking about body language in different cultures (Recording 3.2) and answer the following questions.
1. Which cultures / nationalities from the list below are mentioned in the recording?
English Americans
Japanese Scandinavians
Russians Middle Eastern
African Americans Jamaicans
2. Which aspect of non-verbal communication
- is a sign of strong emotions in Jamaica?
- is not likely to be used by Scandinavians?
- violates a social harmony in Japan?
- shows that you are honest in England?
- is interpreted differently in the western and eastern cultures?
3. How can a western person non-verbally show that they are not interested in the conversation?
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3B Negotiations
“Negotiation is the art of letting them have it your way.”
Daniele Vare,
Italian diplomat and writer
1. Think about a negotiation you have taken part in. It could be work-related or from your private life. In small groups talk about these your negotiations. You can use the some of the following expressions:
1. I was representing ...
2. I was negotiating against ...
3. My aim was ...
4. Their aim was ...
5. The negotiation went well/badly/ ... because ...
6. At the end of the negotiation, ...
7. Afterwards, ...
8. I learned that ...
2. Define ‘negotiation’ in a sentence. Then compare definitions with the rest of your group.
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