Some people think so.

有些人是這麼認為的。

I think you have to be able to be very confident and be able to show off a little bit, like, this is what I do, this is why I'm good at it and this is why we should work together.

我認為，你必須非常自信，能夠稍微炫耀一下，比如，這是我的工作，這是我擅長的原因，這也是我們應該合作的原因。

Small talk is great in the way that it breaks the ice before you can find something interesting to talk about with the other person.

閒聊能打破僵局，讓你找到有趣的話題。

In this episode of Office English, we're finding out how to be professional at work events and master the art of small talk, which is what we call talking about unimportant things.

在本期《辦公室英語》節目中，我們將瞭解如何在工作活動中表現得專業，並掌握閒聊的藝術，也就是我們所說的談論不重要的事情。

Welcome to Office English from BBC Learning English, your podcast guide to the language of the workplace.

歡迎來到 BBC Learning English 的《辦公室英語》，這裡是你的工作場所語言播客指南。

I'm Phil.

我是 Phil。

And I'm Pippa.

我叫 Pippa。

In this podcast, we talk about the words and phrases that can help you through even the most stressful situations at work.

在本期播客中，我們將討論可以幫助你度過工作中最緊張情況的單詞和短語。

And today, we're talking about work events.

今天，我們來談談工作活動。

Maybe it's a festive work party.

也許是節日工作聚會。

Maybe you're at a conference or award ceremony.

也許你正在參加會議或頒獎典禮。

Or maybe you just need something to talk about with your colleagues over lunch.

或者，你只是需要在午餐時與同事聊聊天。

Yes, there are lots of times when we might need to speak in English at work when we're not even doing work at all.

是的，有很多時候，我們可能需要在工作中用英語交談，而我們根本不是在工作。

And when we use these opportunities to improve our professional relationships, this is called networking.

當我們利用這些機會來改善我們的職業關係時，這就是所謂的網絡。

Are you any good at networking, Pippa?

你擅長建立關係網嗎，Pippa？

I'm not sure, really.

我真的不確定。

I think I'm probably quite bad at networking when I don't know somebody because I get really nervous.

我想，當我不認識某個人時，我可能很不擅長交際，因為我會非常緊張。

I'm maybe a bit better once I start to know someone better.

一旦我開始更瞭解一個人，我可能會好一點。

So with colleagues at work, I think I'm a little bit better at developing good relationships.

工作中的同事也是如此、我覺得我在發展良好關係方面更勝一籌。

What about you, Phil?

你呢，Phil？

I think it depends on the situation because there are some situations where it's like everyone's there to network.

我認為這取決於具體情況，因為在有些情況下，每個人都是為了建立聯繫。

So because it's kind of accepted that you're going to be doing networking,

所以，大家都預期彼此會做去認識其他人，

I can make myself do it.

我能讓自己做到這件事，

But where I'm not so good at it is when I'm in a much more social situation where perhaps there isn't that expectation.

但我不擅長的地方是，當我處於一個更多的社交場合時，也許就沒有這種預期了。

And I'm not the sort of person who's going to jump up and get out my business card and give people a long speech on what I do and how I could make them loads of money.

我也不是那種會跳起來拿出名片，長篇大論地向別人介紹我是做什麼的，以及我如何能讓他們賺大錢的人。

And yeah, that feels a bit uncomfortable to me.

是的，這讓我感覺有點不舒服。

In this episode, we'll guide you through these informal work settings from small talk to networking so that you can make the most of your conversations at work.

在本集節目中，我們將引導你瞭解這些非正式的工作場合，從閒聊到建立關係網，讓您在工作中充分發揮談話的作用。

So let's start with how to open a conversation.

那麼，讓我們從如何開啟對話開始吧。

Imagine you're at a work event, maybe a conference, and you want to talk to somebody important.

想象一下，你正在參加一個工作活動，也許是一個會議，你想和某個重要人物交談。

How can we start the conversation, Pippa?

我們該如何開始對話呢，Pippa？

Well, if we know who the person is, but we don't know them, we could engage them with a compliment.

好吧，如果我們知道這個人是誰，但我們不認識他，我們可以用讚美來吸引他。

So if we were at a conference and we'd seen them speak, we could say, "I was really impressed by your talk."

如果我們在一次會議上看到他們的演講，我們就可以說：「你的演講給我留下了深刻的印象。」

Or we could say," I heard about your company and I really like the work you do."

或者我們可以說：「我聽說過你們公司，我非常喜歡你們的工作。」

Or we could say something like "I read your report about this thing and I'd really like to speak about it."

或者我們可以這樣說：「我讀了你關於這件事的報告，我真的很想談談這件事。」

So people always love a compliment, I find.

所以，我發現人們總是喜歡讚美。

Yes, and also as well as these being good compliments, they're kind of getting to the point of why you're interested in them, why you're interested in that company.

是的，這些都是很好的讚美之詞，也讓人明白為什麼你會對他們感興趣，為什麼你會對那家公司感興趣。

And that kind of leads on to what you might have to offer because you're probably looking for opportunities to work together at some point in the future.

這就引出了你們可能提供的服務，因為你們可能正在尋找未來某個時間點的合作機會。

So yeah, I think that's a really good way to break the ice, to start a conversation.

所以，我認為這是打破僵局、開始對話的好方法。

Yeah, some people prefer to talk about non-work things at the beginning and we'll talk a bit more later in the episode about how to do that.

是的，有些人喜歡在一開始就談一些與工作無關的事情，我們會在後面的節目中再談談如何做到這一點。

But I find it easier to kind of go in almost straight in and just talk about something that they've done that's impressive because that's usually a good way to talk about work.

但我發現，直接談論他們做過的令人印象深刻的事情更容易，因為這通常是談論工作的好方法。

If we don't know them, we can just introduce ourselves.

如果我們不認識他們，可以直接自我介紹。

That's a good way to start a conversation.

這是開始對話的好方法。

And then you wanna kind of open up the conversation.

然後，你想打開話匣子。

So ask quite an open question, something like, "How are you finding the conference?"

是以，請提出一個開放性的問題，比如「你覺得這次會議怎麼樣？」

Or you could say something like "What line of work are you in?"

或者你也可以說：「你從事哪一行？」

That's a great expression there. "What line of work are you in?"

說得真好。「你從事哪一行？」

And yeah, it just means what do you do? What's your job?

是啊，這意味著你做什麼的？你的工作是什麼？

Yeah, so you're opening up the conversation.

是的，所以你打開了話匣子。

You always wanna keep the conversation moving like that.

你總是想讓談話像這樣繼續下去。

So what next?

接下來怎麼辦？

How can we move things onto work if we didn't start on work or maybe just keep the conversation going?

如果我們沒有從工作開始，或者只是繼續談話，我們怎麼能把事情轉到工作上呢？

Okay, so maybe asking interesting questions could be key.

好吧，也許提出有趣的問題是關鍵。

So things like, "What do you think is next for the industry?"

像是「你認為該行業的下一步發展方向是什麼？』「

"How did you become interested in a particular subject?"

「你是如何對某個學科產生興趣的？」

"What do you think about any industry news or the event that you're at or maybe another event that's really important in your industry?"

「你對行業新聞、你正在參加的活動或你所在行業的其他重要活動有何看法？」

These are all nice open questions.

這些都是很好的開放性問題。

So it's not just a yes or no and you kinda get to know what the person thinks about these subjects as well, which I think can be important.

所以，這不僅僅是是或否的問題。你還可以瞭解對方對這些主題的看法，我認為這一點很重要。

Yeah, there's two really great things about that.

是啊，這有兩件非常棒的事。

The first is if you ask a yes or no question, so something like, "Are you having a good time?"

首先，如果你問一個是或否的問題，比如「你玩得開心嗎？」

Somebody might just say yes or even worse, no.

有人可能只是說是，或者更糟糕的是，說不。

And then what do you say to that? That makes it really difficult to keep the conversation going.

然後，你會怎麼說，才能讓對話繼續下去？

And another thing about asking questions like "What do you think is next for the industry?" is hopefully that person will then talk for a long time and you don't have to do all the work in the conversation.

另外，問 你「認為該行業的下一步是什麼 」這樣的問題，希望對方能說上很長時間，而你不必在對話中做所有的工作。

And you can kind of listen to what they're saying and respond to what they're saying rather than having to kind of keep things moving and say your opinions all the time.

你可以傾聽他們在說什麼，並對他們說的話做出迴應，而不是讓事情繼續發展，一直說你的觀點。

Anything else you'd do, Phil?

你還會做什麼嗎，Phil？

Well, maybe you want to prepare some opinions or have some talking points depending on what's important in your industry.

也許你想準備一些意見或談話要點，這取決於你所在行業的重要性。

So you might say, "I'm fascinated by how artificial intelligence will change our industry."

所以你可能會說，我對 AI 將如何改變我們的行業非常著迷。

It means we can do work much faster or maybe you want to talk about the problems with it. I don't know.

這意味著我們可以更快地完成工作，或者你想談談其中的問題。我不知道。

Yeah, so this is really good if you're nervous to speak.

是的，如果你在發言時感到緊張，這真的很好。

You could have a think about some opinions or some questions or some interesting things to talk about with people.

你可以思考一些觀點、一些問題或一些有趣的事情，與大家一起討論。

You might be confident just to have a natural conversation but if you're not so confident, preparing a couple of thoughts is always useful.

你可能有信心進行自然的對話，但如果你不那麼自信，準備一些想法總是有用的。

Okay, so if we've got this far, we're doing well but how do we get on to networking?

好吧，如果我們已經走到這一步，我們做得很好，但我們如何繼續聯網呢？

What phrases can we use, Pippa?

我們可以用什麼短語，Pippa？

Yeah, so networking is kind of where we use this relationship that we've started and we use it for our careers.

是的，所以人脈就是我們利用我們建立起來的這種關係，並將其用於我們的事業。

So we could start by saying something like, "I'd really love to talk more about my ideas for modernising the industry."

是以，我們可以這樣說：「我真的很想更多地談談我對行業現代化的想法。」

So you can offer them something.

是以，你可以為他們提供一些東西。

You could say, "Can we grab a coffee sometime?" or "Can I get your contact details?"

你可以說：「我們能不能找個時間喝杯咖啡？」或者「把你的聯繫方式告訴我？」

So you show that you want to continue this really interesting conversation that hopefully you've just had with them and you're giving them something.

這樣，你就表明了你想繼續這個非常有趣的對話，希望你剛剛與他們進行了對話，而且你給了他們一些東西。

You don't just want something from them.

你不只是想從他們那裡得到什麼。

Yes, this idea of sitting down for a coffee, it's great.

是的，坐下來喝杯咖啡的想法很棒。

It's kind of a great way of saying, "Yeah, I want to talk about the work you do, the work I do and find the ways that we can work together, but it's getting a coffee" and particularly in these kind of networking contexts, everyone knows what that means.

這是一種很好的表達方式，是的，我想談談你的工作和我的工作，並找到我們可以合作的方式，但這是在喝咖啡，尤其是在這種網絡環境下，每個人都知道這意味著什麼。

Yeah, and maybe you might be at a virtual event.

是的，也許你會參加一個虛擬活動。

So saying, "Can I get your email" is a good way to be able to follow up with, contact somebody later and then you can ask them more questions because yeah, we don't always meet in person these days.

所以說，"能給我你的電子郵件嗎？"是一個很好的跟進方式，以後再聯繫某人，然後你就可以問他們更多問題，因為是的，現在我們並不總能見面。

You might not be able to go for a real coffee but you might be able to go for a virtual coffee.

你也許不能去喝真正的咖啡，但你也許可以去喝虛擬咖啡。

Another thing you could say is, "I would be interested to work with you on a project,"or "I would love to show you around my office," or "I'd love to show you around my company."

你還可以這樣說：「我很有興趣與您你合作一個項目」或者「帶你參觀一下我的辦公室」或者「帶你參觀一下我的公司」。

This will depend on whether you can show them around your office and you might not feel that the first time you meet someone you could say this.

這將取決於你能否帶他們參觀你的辦公室，而且你可能不覺得第一次見面就可以這樣說。

It's really a judgment but you might want to think about, you know, a potential future professional relationship with this person.

這其實是一種判斷，但你可能需要考慮一下，與這個人未來可能的職業關係。

Yeah, think about the things that you want to get out of it.

是的，想想你想從中得到什麼。

What are the things that are important for you from a work point of view?

從工作的角度來看，哪些事情對你來說很重要？

And we can often be really embarrassed about the fact that we kind of want something from someone in a networking context but actually sometimes it's easier just to ask, you know, rather than being nice to someone just because you want an opportunity.

在社交場合，我們經常會因為想從別人那裡得到什麼而感到尷尬，但實際上，有時候直接開口問別人要比僅僅因為想得到一個機會而對別人示好要容易得多。

If you're clear that you'd really like to work with them, then that's good, and they might respond well to that.

如果你明確表示非常願意與他們合作，那就很好，他們可能會對此做出很好的迴應。

And remember, they're probably at this thing because they're looking for people to work with as well.

記住，他們來這裡可能也是為了找人合作。

So, they're probably interested to hear what you've got to say.

所以，他們可能很想聽聽你的意見。

Remember, networking can be difficult for native speakers too.

請記住，對於母語使用者來說，建立網絡也是一件困難的事情。

Let's hear again from our BBC Learning English colleagues.

讓我們再次聆聽 BBC Learning English 同事的聲音。

I think you have to be able to be very confident and be able to show off a little bit, like this is what I do, this is why I'm good at it and this is why we should work together.

我認為，你必須非常自信，能夠稍微炫耀一下，比如這是我的工作，這是我擅長的原因，這也是我們應該合作的原因。

Small talk is great in the way that it breaks the ice before you can find something interesting to talk about with the other person.

閒聊能打破僵局，讓你找到有趣的話題。

So, Jiaying talked about using small talk to break the ice, to get the conversation moving.

佳英談到了用閒聊來打破僵局，讓談話順利進行。

So, small talk is what we call chatting about unimportant things, talking about small things and that's a good way to kind of get a conversation going before we talk about the work that we want to talk about.

所以，閒聊就是我們常說的聊一些無關緊要的事情，聊一些小事情，這是在我們談我們想談的工作之前，讓談話進行下去的一種好方法。

Yes, and certainly in the UK, most work conversations contain some small talk.

是的，當然，在英國，大多數工作對話都包含一些閒聊。

Really common one is talking about the weather.

真正常見的是談論天氣。

It's a really easy one.

這真的很簡單。

Of course, in the UK, the weather changes so often, there's always something worth talking about, even if it's just a complaint.

當然，在英國，天氣變化如此頻繁，總有一些事情值得談論，哪怕只是抱怨。

Also, you could talk about recent events or observations.

此外，您還可以談談最近發生的事件或觀察到的情況。

So, if you're at a conference or a party, you could make some observation about what's going on.

是以，如果你正在參加一個會議或聚會，你可以對正在發生的事情進行一些觀察。

It can feel really strange and really silly to talk about what we might think are boring things as a way to start a conversation, but it just can sometimes just loosen somebody up, which means just relax them so they're ready to talk.

談論我們可能認為無聊的事情來開始談話，感覺很奇怪，也很愚蠢，但這有時會讓別人放鬆下來，也就是讓他們放鬆，從而準備好談話。

I think with small talk often, we're trying to find things that we have in common with people, aren't we?

我認為，在閒聊時，我們經常試圖找到與他人的共同點，不是嗎？

So, it might be at an event, you're often asking about things related to the event.

是以，可能是在一次活動中，你經常會詢問與活動相關的事情。

So, it might not be the weather, it might be how you got there.

所以，可能不是天氣的問題，而是你如何到達那裡的問題。

There might be something that happened, there might have been a really interesting talk that everyone's talking about and so that might be the thing that you ask when you're trying to find out what someone thinks.

可能發生了什麼事，可能有一場非常有趣的談話，每個人都在談論，所以當你想了解別人的想法時，你可能會問這件事。

And then what's really, what will really help you build a relationship is if you're showing genuine interest in the other person.

然後，真正能幫助你建立關係的，是你對對方表現出真正的興趣。

That really helps build that relationship so then you can take it to other places afterwards and you can start asking the more networking questions.

這確實有助於建立關係，之後你就可以把它帶到其他地方，開始問更多的網絡問題。

And lots of networking is about developing relationships, as we've said.

正如我們所說的那樣，很多社交活動都是為了發展關係。

And so, working on your conversational English is really important.

提高英語會話能力非常重要。

And you can find loads of programmes and courses to help with this on our website.

你可以在我們的網站上找到大量有助於實現這一目標的計劃和課程。

That's bbclearningenglish.com.

這就是 bbclearningenglish.com。

And that's it for this episode of Office English.

本期《辦公室英語》到此結束。

Next time, we'll be talking about the phrases used to give bad news at work.

下一次，我們將討論在工作中發佈壞消息時使用的措辭。

Join us then.

那就加入我們吧。

Bye.

再見。

Bye.

再見。