先来看看何为small talk?

 

Small talk: Conversation without real meaning; conversation without any particular purpose; conversation about general subjects; conversation one starts with unfamiliar¹ people in order to be more involved; conversation used to make friends with new people; conversation used to make the atmosphere better.

所谓small talk，就是“闲聊、寒暄”的意思，指没有具体意义的对话；没有特殊目的的对话；关于大众话题的对话；为了进一步融入而展开的与陌生人的对话；为了结交新朋友而展开的对话；为了使气氛更融洽而展开的对话。

 

Good topics（适合的话题）

 

1. How was your flight or train ride? Perhaps the first question you would ask them, out of politeness².

旅途如何？这可能是你首先该问的问题，比较礼貌。

 

2. How is your hotel? If they have already checked into a hotel, you can ask if their accommodations³ are acceptable⁴ to them. Just another polite question.

你的旅馆如何？如果他们已经入住的话，你可以问问他们觉得住宿是否可心，这又是一个比较礼貌的问题哦。

 

3. Do you play any sports? / Do you play golf? This is a good question to ask Western businessmen especially. Most of them do play golf - it has become very, very common in recent years. Others might play tennis, squash⁵ or basketball. Most Western women do yoga or at least go to the gym.

你做什么运动吗？你打高尔夫吗？这个是可以问西方商务人士的很典型的话题。大多数西方商务人士都打高尔夫，近些年，高尔夫已经成为一项非常常见的运动。也有一些可能会打网球，壁球或者篮球的。大部分西方女士做瑜伽或者至少会去健身房运动。

 

4. How’s the weather like in your country? Whereabouts are you from?

你们国家天气如何？你来自具体哪个地方呢？

 

5. American businessmen especially like to get down to business without too much small talk. After your meeting, you could go to a bar or pub⁶ to get to know each other better. Your foreign friend will be more relaxed and more talkative in that situation.

美国商人特别喜欢直接进入商务话题，所以过多寒暄就不必了。你们会面之后，你们可以去酒吧或酒馆来进一步了解彼此。那时你的外国友人会更加放松，也更健谈些。

 

在闲谈过程中，要不时地表现出对对方谈话的兴趣。常用的短语有：

 

Really?

真的吗？

 

I see.

原来如此。

 

What a coincidence!

真巧！

 

That’s amazing!

太神奇了！、太棒了！

 

That sounds interesting.

听起来很有趣。

 

Oh dear…

天哪！

 

Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that.

哦，很遗憾听到这个消息。

 

虽然在闲聊的过程中有很多话题可以选择，但也要注意避免提及一些忌讳的话题。那么到底哪些话题需要避免呢？

 

Bad topics（不适合的话题）

 

Health健康

 

Private life(age,marital status, etc.)私生活（年龄、婚姻状况等）

 

Personal gossip私人八卦

 

Religion宗教

 

Politics政治

 

Offensive jokes带有冒犯性的玩笑

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