1. Network of friends

Focus on

Tom and his friends in Dublin
Imagen de imnewtryme en Flickr. Licencia CC


I'd like to introduce you to Tom's friends. I don't think you have met them before:

These are Tom's friends: Sophie, Emilie, Jack, Sean, Emma and Daniel. Sophie is the one on the left and her boyfriend is Daniel, the tallest one. They first met Tom when visiting St. Patrick's Cathedral. Daniel is German and Sophie is taking him around the city so that he gets to know it.

  • What do you say to greet a person who has just been introduced to you?
    If you are not sure which phrases to use when making introductions, watch the video below which will help you.

 

 

Watch the video about introductions and greetings and complete the grid below with the information provided.

  • To fill in the missing information, watch the video from the beginning to minute 5'38''.
  • To see how to use these expressions in context watch the video from minute 10'38'' onwards.


     

    Use a piece of paper to complete the grid and then check your answers.

1. HOW TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF
a) Informal  
b) Formal  
2. HOW TO INTRODUCE SOMEONE ELSE
a) Informal  
b) Formal  
3. WHAT TO SAY AFTER INTRODUCTIONS
a) Informal  
b) Formal                                                                           

Top tips

As you can see demonstratives (this / that / these / those) are used to introduce somebody.
Let's review how to use them.

If you look at the text above where Tom's friends were introduced,
you will see that the pronoun one has been used.

  • When do we use one and when ones?

    Read this information about the use of one and ones to avoid repetition in sentences.
    Then rewrite the sentences using the pronouns.
 

Have you ever had to introduce yourself when attending a meeting full of strangers? Was it easy to start conversations with them? Is it more difficult if you have to do it in English? Why?

Read the quiz below and choose the answer which best suits you. Then compare with your partner.

QUIZ: BREAKING THE ICE

1. You decide to attend an international conference. You have never attended such an event before. What is your main reason for attending?

  1. I’m going to attend lots of presentations so I can keep up-to-date with developments in my industry.
  2. I’m hoping to meet lots of interesting people – maybe some of them will be useful for my future career.
  3. I have a target of twenty people that I want to meet, so I can persuade them to buy our products.

2. On the first evening, you attend a ‘welcome party’. You arrive in a large hall filled with about 500 people. They all seem to be talking to each other in groups. There’s nobody that you recognise. What do you do?

  1. Go up to one of the groups, introduce yourself and ask if you can join them.
  2. Go up to one of the groups and listen to the conversation. Maybe you can join in later.
  3. Find where the food is being served and try to start a conversation with someone in the queue.
  4. Walk around the hall, pretending to be looking for someone. Avoid eye contact with other people.
  5. Turn around and go home.

3. At the conference party, which of these problems would be worse for you?

  1. No-one wants to talk to you.
  2. A really boring person wants to talk to you and you can’t escape from him/her.

4. Where is the best place to stand if you want people to talk to you?

  1. In the middle of the hall.
  2. By the wall.
  3. Outside.
  4. By the buffet / bar.

5. Which topics of conversation could you use to break the ice with someone?

  1. How much you hate parties like this.
  2. The conference.
  3. Your work.
  4. Sport.
  5. The weather.
  6. Politics.
  7. How bad the food is.
  8. Where you’re from.

SOURCE: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/sites/teacheng/files/Socialising%201_Breaking%20the%20ice_worksheets%20JD.pdf

Do it yourself

Read the following text called Breaking the ice - Part 1 and say if the following statements are True of False according to the information provided:

BREAKING THE ICE - PART 1

Everyone knows that conferences are great for networking. Of course, you might also learn some new things at the presentations and workshops, but it’s what happens during the coffee breaks and the evening events that make conferences such a good use of your time and money. Conferences are all about meeting people and, yes, making friends. Of course, some of those new contacts may become customers for your company too, but don’t try to sell to them at the conference unless you really have to. Most of the people you meet won’t want to buy from you – but they might be able to point you in the direction of some potential customers that they know. In other words, relax – don’t try too hard. Just be yourself, and allow any business partnerships to appear naturally.

The most difficult part of networking is always breaking the ice: starting a conversation with a stranger and then keeping it going for those important first five minutes. It can be incredibly daunting to walkin to a room full of people, all of whom seem to know each other and are involved in deep conversations. How on earth do you join in? Well, the most important thing to remember is that most of those people are in the same position as you. Half the people in the group conversations also don’t know anybody and are nervously trying to get involved. The busy-looking people who are walking around the hall are probably just pretending to be busy so they don’t have to admit that they’re alone.

The best thing to do is to try to get involved in one of the conversations. It’s polite to introduce yourself and ask if you can join the group, but there’s nothing wrong with standing and listening for a few minutes first. Don’t worry that the group are discussing top-secret business deals: they almost certainly aren’t! And if they are, they should expect people to interrupt them from time to time – it’s a networking event, after all.

The worst thing to do – apart from standing in the middle of the hall by yourself – is to walk around looking busy. This is like holding up a sign saying ‘Please don’t talk to me’. If you really feel too embarrassed to talk to strangers, perhaps you should go home and try to network at the conference tomorrow, where it should be much easier. A much better solution, though, is to move slowly around the room, make eye contact with people, smile and say ‘hello’. That way, even if you’re too nervous to start a conversation, other people will understand that they can start a conversation with you.

Sometimes, we’re our own worst enemies: we feel bad when no-one wants to talk to us, but then when someone tries to engage us in conversation, we can’t wait to get away. If someone has made the effort to come up to you, they deserve at least five minutes of your time, no matter how boring that person seems. Even if you decide at the end of that time that the person is too boring to talk to, perhaps they can introduce you to someone else who you can talk to. And if you’re lucky, perhaps more people will join your conversation group, and suddenly you’ll find yourself in the middle of the action.

SOURCE: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/sites/teacheng/files/Socialising%201_Breaking%20the%20ice_worksheets%20JD.pdf

Question 1

1. When you are at a conference you should only talk to people who could be your customers.

Question 2

2. People who are involved in deep conversations are probably people who already knew before the conference.

Question 3

3. It's better not to join a group who has already started a conversation since they could be discussing top-secret business deals.

Question 4

4. It is difficult to network with a person who is walking around looking busy and avoids eye contact with people.

Question 5

5. It is better to keep far from boring people since they will prevent you from meeting other people.

Moving on

If you are interested in reading Breaking the Ice - Part II,
you will find useful tips when trying to start conversations with strangers

Do it yourself

Look at the grid below and match the beginnings and the endings to make phrases for starting conversations. Write the letter in the space provided:

BEGINNINGS LETTER ENDINGS
1. Excuse me. Do you ... a. ... a long way to get here?
2. Hello. My name’s ... Is it ... b. ... for a living?
3. Are you here alone ... c. ... good presentations today?
4. And what about you? ... d. ... have a light?
5. It’s cold out ... e. ... have you tried it?
6. I just came out for some fresh air – ... f. ... here, isn’t it?
7. Sorry, do you ... g. ... I can find the spoons?
8. Are you giving a ... h. ... me the milk?
9. This salad’s delicious – ... i. ... mind if I join you?
10. Do you know many ... j. ... morning’s lecture?
11. Are you enjoying ... k. ... OK if I join your group?
12. It’s a great ... l. ... or with a group?
13. Is this your first ... m. ... party, isn’t it?
14. Did you attend any ... n. ... people here tonight?
15. Do you know where ... o. ... presentation at the conference?
16. Did you enjoy this ... p. ... round here?
17. Have you travelled ... q. ... the party?
18. What do you do ... r. ... there are too many people in there.
19. Are you from ... s. ... time at the conference?
20. Could you pass ... t. ... Where are you from?

    SOURCE: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/sites/teacheng/files/Socialising%201_Breaking%20the%20ice_worksheets%20JD.pdf

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People having a beer outdoors
Imagen de robonline en Flickr. Licencia CC

Work in pairs and perform the following role play:

Student A is on holidays in Dublin with another friend. He/She meets Tom (Student B) and his friends at Kehoe's. Student A begins the conversation using some of the phrases studied above. Introduce yourself and your friend to Tom. Tom, who is Student B, also introduces himself and his friends. Talk about different topics to break the ice and keep the conversation going for about 5 minutes.