Shadowing Practice: Learn about the importance of small talk in a business setting | Business English - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Hello, welcome to Business English.
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Hello, welcome to Business English.
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I'm Nunes Dadakula.
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Today we're going to learn about office conversations.
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What do you know about office conversations?
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Also sometimes known as small talk.
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In today's lesson, we're going to learn how to recognise and use questions in a conversation.
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By the end of the lesson,
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we're going to be able to recognise and identify questions in a conversation
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and learn how to use fillers correctly in a conversation.
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In most English-speaking countries, it's important to be able to engage in office conversations.
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This is a casual form of conversation that breaks the ice or fills in awkward silences between people.
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Often, people use it to try and find common interests so they can start to build a relationship with colleagues at work.
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Now, let's look at how two people have a casual chat at work.
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Good morning.
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Good morning.
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How are you doing?
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Yeah, good thanks.
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I haven't seen you around before.
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I'm Sue.
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I just started a new role.
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In fact, I just moved here.
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And so, where did you move from?
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I'm from Western Australia.
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Broome, actually.
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Have you been there before?
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It's a beach town in the Kimberley region.
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That's in the north-west of Australia.
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Ah, I see.
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No, I haven't been there before.
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What about you?
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Where do you live?
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Have you ever come across questions in a conversation before?
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Or have you used any?
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What are some examples that come to mind?
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Tell us in the comments.
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We're going
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to look at some of the questions that people often ask.
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We're going to look at some of the questions that people often ask when engaging in office chats.
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The first one is, so where did you move from?
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This is a question that is asking about where you've lived before.
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In a casual conversation, it's important to keep the conversation going.
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Listen to these two answers.
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Which one do you think is better?
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I'm from Western Australia.
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I'm from Western Australia.
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Broome, actually.
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Have you been there before?
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It's a beach town in the Kimberley region.
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That's in the northwest of Australia.
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Yes, the second answer.
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It gives a lot more information and it allows the listener to keep the conversation going.
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They can ask about the location, the tourism, the buildings buildings.
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While the first answer is also true,
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it can seem a bit rude not to offer any more information in a conversation.
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So remember to offer two to three extra bits of information to keep the conversation going.
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Usually, after a question like this,
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we would follow up and ask something like, what about you?
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Where do you live?
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Now it's your turn.
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Practice using these conversation starters.
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Where did you move from?
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Often people will ask about what you like to do outside of work.
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This can be different in some cultures,
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where work and non-work life are kept very separate.
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But in Australia, people at work do talk about non-work life.
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What's it like in your culture?
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Is asking about what you do outside of work appropriate?
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What do you like to do when you're not working?
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Well, I love to play sports.
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Ah, right.
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Mainly footy, but I'm learning to play cricket.
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That's cool.
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I also love to cook and watch TV shows about travelling.
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Ah, I see.
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What about you?
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I just love watching TV shows.
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In the conversation we have just watched,
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Raj asks Sue, what do you like to do when you're not working?
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This is a question about hobbies,
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and there are a few different ways you might hear this question asked.
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For example, what do you like to do in your free time?
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What do you do outside of work?
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Or, what do you do for fun?
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All of these questions are asking about hobbies and interests.
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Practice asking them now.
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Remember, this is small talk,
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so we should try to sound relaxed and interested.
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So how can we answer this type of question?
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We don't need to give a lot of detail about our hobbies,
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but having a quick list of things you like to do can be really useful for this type of conversation.
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Let's listen to Sue and Raj.
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What do you like to do when you're not working?
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Well I love to play sport.
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Right.
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Mainly footy but I'm learning to play cricket.
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That's cool.
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I also love to cook and watch TV shows about traveling.
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Did you see how Sue gave four topics in one short answer?
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This is really effective as it allows the listener to follow up easily.
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Practice answering this question about yourself.
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Remember, we don't need too much detail.
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Ah, right.
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That's cool.
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Knowing how to keep a conversation moving is another important part of small talk.
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We need to show the speaker that we are interested and we want to keep talking to them.
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How do you know someone's interested in chatting further with you?
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We can ask questions to do this.
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But we also have some other ways.
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Listen to what Raj is doing while Sue is talking.
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What do you like to do when you're not working?
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Well, I love to play sports.
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Ah, right.
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Mainly footy, but I'm learning to play cricket.
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That's cool.
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I also love to cook and watch TV shows about travelling.
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Ah, I see.
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What about you?
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I just love watching TV shows.
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Did you hear the words and sounds that Raj made?
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These are known as fillers,
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and they are an important part of having a conversation.
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Can you remember some of the fillers that are used?
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Did you hear, ah, right, and that's cool?
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Here are some others.
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Whoa.
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Yeah.
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I see.
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Did you notice these example fillers show that we're interested in the speaker?
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They're not new questions, and they're not stopping the speaker from talking.
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And we usually say this a bit more quietly than the speaker.
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There are lots of fillers in English.
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We've listed some of them here.
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We've already looked at the positive fillers.
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Let's go through the neutral list.
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They are, uh-huh, ah, oh, huh, yeah, and right.
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The negative fillers are yeah, nah, really?
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And right.
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Now it's your turn.
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Practice using some of the fillers you've just learnt.
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Well, I like to play sports.
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Mainly footy, but I've been learning to play cricket.
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I also love to cook and watch TV shows about travelling.
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Let's watch the conversation between Raj and Sue again.
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Good morning.
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Good morning.
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How are you doing?
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Yeah, good thanks.
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I haven't seen you around before.
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I'm Sue.
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I just started a new role.
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In fact, I just moved here.
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And so where did you move from?
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I'm from Western Australia.
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Broome, actually.
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Have you been there before?
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It's a beach town in the Kimberley region.
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That's in the northwest of Australia.
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Ah, I see.
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No, I haven't been there before.
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What about you?
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Where do you live?
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What do you like to do when you're not working?
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Well, I love to play sports.
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Ah, right.
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Mainly footy, but I'm learning to play cricket.
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That's cool.
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I also love to cook and watch TV shows about travelling.
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Ah, I see.
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What about you?
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I just love watching TV shows.
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So remember, ask general questions in a conversation.
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Make sure you provide two to three pieces of information to keep the conversation going.
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And finally, use the appropriate fillers to support the conversation to continue.
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Thank you for watching this episode of Business English.
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If you liked the lesson,
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why not leave us a like?
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If you want to learn more about Business English,
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this video is part of a series,
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and you can watch more episodes here and here.
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I will see you in the next lesson.
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Context & Background
In the modern business environment, engaging in small talk is essential for building relationships and establishing rapport among colleagues. In this video, Nunes Dadakula guides learners through the significance of office conversations, often characterized as casual dialogues that can ease tension and foster connections. The dialogue presented illustrates the friendly exchange between two coworkers—highlighting how asking questions can both inform and engage others. This exchange serves not only as a practical example but also as a valuable lesson in utilizing conversational prompts to enhance workplace interactions.
Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication
- “Good morning. How are you doing?” - A friendly greeting that opens the conversation.
- “I haven’t seen you around before. I just started a new role.” - A personal introduction that invites further discussion.
- “Where did you move from?” - An example of a question that helps to establish common ground.
- “Have you been there before?” - This encourages the other person to share experiences and create continuity in dialogue.
- “What about you? Where do you live?” - A reciprocal question that keeps the conversation flowing.
Step-by-step Shadowing Guide
If you want to enhance your English speaking skills, especially in a business context, using a shadowing technique can be highly beneficial. Here’s how to approach the content from the video:
- Listen Actively: Watch the video and pay attention to the speaker’s intonation and pronunciation. This will help you familiarize yourself with natural speech patterns.
- Repeat After the Speaker: As you listen, pause the video after each phrase and try to mimic the speaker. Focus on sounding as close to the original as possible, which is crucial for effective communication.
- Engage with Fillers: Words like “um,” “well,” or “actually” are known as fillers. Practice incorporating these into your conversation to ensure smooth transitions and to buy time without disrupting the flow.
- Record Yourself: After shadowing a section, record your voice while repeating the phrases. Listen for areas of improvement in your pronunciation and rhythm.
- Engage in Real Conversations: Finally, try using what you’ve learned in real conversations. This can be during IELTS speaking practice or casual chats with friends or colleagues. Use learn English with YouTube and shadowspeaks to find more resources that focus on practical conversations.
By following these steps, you will not only gain confidence in using small talk but will also improve your overall communication skills in a business setting.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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