美国文化脱口秀 第394期:英语social如何聊出质量?

 　　和外国人聊三句就没话题？谈资老套、聊不出质量？听Jenny和Spencer分享英语聊天实用建议；学自然、有质量的英语交流方法！

　　关键词：

　　Run out of topics?

　　没话题、很尴尬？

　　Do you run out of things to talk about or always talk about superficial topics?

　　你是否聊着聊着没话题或者只能聊些很浅的内容？

　　英语聊天，主要靠：

　　Daily learning (日常累积)：英语＋文化

　　Practical approach (实际步骤)：选择切入点＋适当扩展

　　How do you strike up conversations naturally with people whom you just met? 如何跟刚认识的人自然地开启话题？

　　＊Spencer对中文“搭讪”的理解有误＊：

　　strike up a conversation: 开始聊天，通用词

　　hookup: 搭讪

　　Keep it natural

　　中国人、外国人都是人

　　放下压力，松弛自然地交流

　　Don't memorize fixed¹ things to say to people: 不要像背稿子一样死记硬背

　　That's one of the reasons your conversations are very stale and limited. 那样的话，你聊的内容总是很老套、很局限

　　Learn a useful train of thought or flow of logic²: 掌握一些实用的谈话逻辑

　　Jenny, Spencer先示范一下：

　　Assume we are at a social networking event and we don't know each other: 假设我们在一个社交场合，不认识彼此

　　Let's improv: 我们现场即兴演示一下

　　自然的英语自我介绍方法

　　J: Hi, I'm Jenny. Nice to meet you!

　　S: Hey, how's it going? My name is Spencer. Where are you from?

　　J: I'm from Shanghai. What about you?

　　S: I come from the States, come from D.C. But I bounced around a bit over the past few years, so it's kind of hard to tell where I'm really from at this point.

　　J: I've been to the States almost ten times. But I've never been to DC, and I've always wanted to go.

　　S: You should check it out sometime. We've got a lot of cool stuff there. A lot of free museums are really fun to go to.

　　J: But I guess it's a bit crazy this time of the year, given all the election talks.

　　S: It's not as crazy as you may think it is. But if that guy, Trump³, gets into the office, then all bets are off.

　　总结：

　　初次见面，聊天很简单，从自己谈起！

　　Talk about yourself: who you're, where you're from;

　　但是别两句话结束, 多扩展一些.

　　Build on the conversation.

　　“What's your name?”

　　听起来像小学生

　　怎么问？

　　Introduce your name first.

　　And say"And you are?"

　　例如:

　　Hi, I'm Jenny, and you are?

　　其实对方在听了你的名字后，基本上会自然地告诉你他／她的名字。

　　扩展：谈场景、谈场合

　　Talk about the event, the immediate⁴ surroundings

　　Spencer's tip: I usually say something that has to do with the event.

　　Example: Someone just gave the speech. I might turn to somebody and say, "Hey, is it just me or did that speech make you wanna go to sleep, too?" 如果有人刚做了个演讲。我可能就会对某人说：“嘿，是只有我一个人觉得困还是刚才那个演讲让你也犯困？”

　　It's just a way to open up the conversation. I can just be joking. I like to start off with some sort of joke. 这就是一种开场的方式。我喜欢讲笑话。我喜欢用玩笑来开始对话。

　　If you don't have Spencer's sense of humor, just say: That was a great speech. 如果你没有Spencer的幽默，那么就说：那个演讲真不错！

　　Then the conversation naturally flows from there. 然后对话就自然发展下去啦。

　　如何谈工作？

　　除了"What's your job?"，还有更多问法：

　　如果你已经知道对方工作的行业(industry specific)，可以这么问：

　　What company are you with？

　　如果你什么都不知道，那么可以这么问：

　　What do you do for a living?

　　What kind of work do you do?

　　接着这些问题，可以继续问下去：

　　How long have been working at this company/in this industry?

　　How long have you been in that line of work?

　　How long have you been working in (industry)?

　　How long have you been working in marketing⁵?

　　When did you start your own company?

　　Have you always been in education?

　　Tailor your questions to what they do: 按照对方的行业进行扩展

　　"Where are you from?"

　　每个地方都有丰富的故事

　　Tie your conversation to the place he/she comes from.

　　Spencer's tip: People like to know that you're knowledgeable⁶ of where they come from. 人们喜欢你知道一些他家乡的事。

　　I can meet someone from practically any corner of the world. 我会遇到从世界各地来的人。

　　Some little tidbit or some little piece of information I can throw out at them. They will feel: Wow, you know where I'm from! 我说一点跟他们家乡有意思的小事情，他们都会觉得：哇，你知道那里！

　　It will lead to very interesting and meaningful exchange. 这会让对话变得有意思，而且有意义。

　　英语social如何聊出质量?

　　累积美国文化知识，绝对用得到！

　　If you've been to where they're from or know something about the place, talk about that: 如果你去过那里，或者知道那里的特色，就可以谈谈

　　即使你没去过，也有很多可以说！

　　What is (where they're from) like? 你的家乡是怎么样的呀？

　　I've always wanted to go there but I haven't had the chance. Tell me more about it. 我总想去那儿，但一直没机会。你给我讲讲吧

　　In return, talk about your city. 反过来，你也可以讲讲你的城市

　　怎么自然地结束谈话？

　　Wrap up a conversation gracefully⁷

　　Another role play 再来演一下

　　S: It's been a real pleasure meeting you today. I hope to encounter you at another one of these events.

　　J: Likewise. Do you use WeChat?

　　S: That, I do. But I'm usually out of China. So when I'm out, I usually use WhatsApp. Do you have WhatsApp? I know we're a little behind with the WhatsApp. It's easier to contact me on there.

　　J: No, you have to get on WeChat, especially if you travel to China. It's great. In any case, I'm on LinkedIn, or we can exchange email.

　　S: Cool, why don't we just exchange email and maybe I'll get on that WeChat thing a bit in the future.

　　J: OK, sure. It's a pleasure meeting you and enjoy the rest of the evening.

　　S: Enjoy your stay here in Beijing.

　　结束谈话，用下面三个步骤：

　　1.释放结束信号（Signal）

　　It's been really nice meeting you.

　　It's been a pleasure meeting you.

　　It's been very nice talking to you.

　　2.交换联络方式 (exchange contact information)

　　Let's keep in touch.

　　Are you on WeChat?

　　Do you have a card?

　　3.最后说 (Enjoy...)

　　Enjoy the rest of ________.

　　Enjoy the rest of the/your day.

　　Enjoy the rest of the/your stay.

　　Enjoy the rest of the/your evening.

　　有质量的英语交流，一定要靠平时累积：

　　You need to build up your English skills and culture understanding.累积英语能力和文化认知

　　We should be bilingual and bicultural. 不仅有双语能力，还有跨文化的理解

1 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

2 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

3 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

4 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

5 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

6 knowledgeable   

adj.知识渊博的；有见识的

参考例句：

• He's quite knowledgeable about the theatre.他对戏剧很有心得。
• He made some knowledgeable remarks at the meeting.他在会上的发言颇有见地。

7 gracefully   

ad.大大方方地；优美地

参考例句：

• She sank gracefully down onto a cushion at his feet. 她优雅地坐到他脚旁的垫子上。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line. 新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。