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Task 1.
Do you remember the last time you talked with someone you had just met on a topic which wasn’t
connected to work?
What did you talk about?
How did you feel talking to that person?
Source: dilbert.com
Task 2. Work in groups of three.
Student A: listen to Students B and C and do the secret task on the last page.
Student B and Student C: imagine that you’ve just met each other at a social networking event
(e.g. at party at work/conference). Start by asking each other about your work and then just chat
for three minutes.

2. O l y a S e r g e e v a e l t g e e k . w o r d p r e s s . c o m P a g e 2 | 4
Task 3. https://youtu.be/RvCVhmgQLEU?t=1m58s
We’re going to analyze how people show each other that they’re listening verbally (by saying
something) and non-verbally (by body language) in American culture. To do that, we’ll watch two
software developers discussing a technical topic. Watch and answer questions 1-3.
1. How do they use their hands while they’re speaking?
o They don’t use their hands at all.
o They use their hands a little bit.
o They use their hands a lot to add to what they’re
saying.
2. Do they make eye contact?
o No eye contact
o They sometimes make eye contact
o They often make eye contact
o They look at each other constantly
3. How do they show each other that they’re listening?
o By body language (e.g. by nodding)
o By making short comments (e.g. ‘Really?’ ‘Interesting!’)
o By making ‘small noises’ (e.g. ‘Mmm?’)s
o Something else: _______________________
Task 4. Sort the expressions and questions in the box below according to theirfunction:
One- or two-
word comments
/ echoing key
words.
Follow-up
questions
Comments that
work as follow-
up questions
Comments
about yourself
 5 years?
 Interesting.
 Really? What was
that like?
 Really? That’s
interesting
because…
 Exactly. I think…
 Right.
 So, were you working on the
same project back then?
 So when exactly did you start
with this?
 So you have been working here
for quite a long time now.
 So you know the company
pretty well then.
 Why did you decide to
leave your start-up?
 Yeah.
 Yeah, I had a similar
experience. I ….
 Was it?
I joined the company
about 5 years ago
and it was very
different back then.

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Task 5. In pairs, come up with things to say/ask in response to the following:
One-word
comments /
echoing key
words.
Follow-up
questions
Comments that
work as follow-up
questions
1. I generally come to work at around
10.
2. There are about 7 people on my
team.
3. I only started this project a few
months ago.
4. My town has great cultural life, but
to be honest I don’t have that much
time to go to theatres and clubs.
Task 6. Work in pairs. Chat with your partner (use the questions in the box below to get some ideas
what to talk about). While you’re listening, draw cards from your stack to see how you need to
react:
Justcontinue listening,showingthat
you’re interestedwith small noisesand
body language.
Make a comment that worksas a follow-
up question
Aska follow-upquestion. Make a comment about yourself.
So do you have a big family?
So tell me about your hobbies. What do you do for fun?
So what was the best part of your day today?
So do you have any plans for this coming weekend?
So do people where you live eat out a lot?
So did you do anything fun last weekend?
So what’s your favorite thing about your job?
So do you ever play any sports?
So what’s the biggest challenge that you have in your work right now?
What was it like for you starting to work in your company?

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Task 7. Match the questions in Task 6 with the following topics. Then write more questions on
these topics:
job/career
passionsandhobbies
family/friends
history/the culture of the place youcome from
So do you have _______________________________?
So tell me about _____________. What do you _________________________?
So what was the best _______________________________?
So do you have any plans for _______________________________?
So do you _______________________________ a lot?
So did you do anything fun _______________________________?
So what’s your favorite thing about _______________________________?
So do you ever _______________________________?
So what’s the biggest challenge _______________________________?
What was it like _____________?
Secret task for Student A.
Your group mates are going to speak to each other. While they are speaking, look at them and
write the answers to the following questions:
1. How do they use their hands while they’re speaking?
o They don’t use their hands at all.
o They use their hands a little bit.
o They use their hands a lot to add to what they’re
saying.
2. Do they make eye contact?
o No eye contact
o They sometimes make eye contact
o They often make eye contact
o They look at each other constantly
3. How do they show each other that they’re listening?
o By body language (e.g. by nodding their heads)
o By making short comments (e.g. ‘Really?’ ‘Interesting!’)
o By making ‘small noises’ (e.g. ‘Mmm?’)
o Something else: _______________________
4. Are there any moments when they don’t know what to say?
o Yes.
o No, because they ask good questions.
o No, because one person talks a lot.