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<转载>如何和外国人谈笑风生?
(offerbox.cn) 2014/12/22 14:56:28
你只会一点点英语,想和外国人聊聊提高口语却找不到话题?或者你口语还不错,和外国人social时却呆若木鸡?下面OfferBOX何老师就为大家分享一篇“知乎”上的人气攻略——教你如何和外国人谈笑风生,social其实就是这么EASY!
针对和外国人social这件事,以我个人的经验,并不是多看点美剧就能解决的。你可能看过十部美剧、五十部电影,但是面对一个外国同事的时候一样只会哑口无言。
以下是一些常见的社交场景和社交话题,下班公司聚会,朋友三四酒吧小聚应该绰绰有余了。更多关于如何学好英语的tips,请询OfferBOX的专业留学老师。
为保证用词的准确性,以下会出现大量大量大量的英文。不喜勿喷。
基础版
- Weather
尤其是天气有突然变冷或突然变热,可以适当地“Complain”一下。
Hey XXX, how are you doing?
Not too bad. Just this weather is driving me crazy, like warm, cold, warm and cold again. I keep taking my heavy jacket out, wear them for two days, and put them on the side. I mean, seriously?
大多数情况下你的同事会加入你的Complain.
- Holiday Plan
尤其是临近节假日,可以问休假计划,最不济还可以问周末计划。
Do you have any plan for Christmas/Thanksgiving/Labor Day Weekend/Memorial Day Weekend/this weekend?
Yeah, my parents are coming in town to visit us.
OR Yeah, my husband and I are going to Hawaii.
- Family (Pay attention to his/her ring!!)
如果男方或女方戴婚戒,可以试探性地问一问他们有没有孩子。如果有,就继续问男孩/女孩,多大年纪了,然后对方就会替你无止境地说下去了。
Do you have kids?
Yes I have two. One boy and one girl.
Awwww. That's so perfect! How old are they?
The boy is 4, and the girl is 7.
OMG, so cute! Is the boy a little troublemaker? Has the girl started her fashion request like only wearing clothes she likes?
- Recent Changes
尽量只问喜事,比如你知道哪个同事最近订婚、结婚、妻子怀孕或者有小孩了。
比如订婚的:Congratulations! So, when will be the big day?
比如结婚的:Congratulations! Where did you go for your honeymoon?
比如怀孕的:Congratulations! How are you feeling right now? OR When will be the delivery?
比如有小孩的:Is that a boy or a girl?Have you started baby stuff shopping?
- News
尽量挑一些人人知道的新闻,比如最近的油价下跌(我们是石油公司谢谢),悉尼咖啡馆绑架案。不要尝试讨论那些只有你关注其他人都不Follow的内容(这样并不显得你很特别谢谢),因为让对方很难接。
Have you seen the news about Sydney coffee shop hostage? That's insane! Why does he want to hurt random people?
- Movies (NOT TV Shows)
仅就美国当地而言,因为Show实在太多了,大家都看一部的概率非常小。就算前段时间纸牌屋红成那个样子,也不见得构成一个话题。相反,如果是电影的话,热映的就那两三部,反倒很好聊。
Have you watched Interstellar? It's amazing!! You should go watch it and it needs to be done in a theater.
Have you taken your kids to watch Big Hero 6? I LOVE IT!!
- Shopping and Fashion
如果双方都是女性的话,你可以用赞赏对方的衣服或鞋子或配饰来开启话题。接着聊东西是在哪儿买的,哪个牌子最近有Sale。前提是你是一个比较关注时尚的女生,如果你只在Costco买衣服,你可以忽略我了。关于女生如何穿职业装,我在另一个答案当中也展开了(我越发觉得自己像软广)。
I like your shirt! The cut is very unique. Where did you get it?
Oh I got it from XXX.
Nice. I should go check their stuff too.
Yes, I love this brand. Plus they're having a sale now.
BIG NO NO
- 有无数无数无数的前人告诉我们,“你可以跟人家聊中国文化啊~” 我只能说,给出这样建议的人大多都是纸上谈兵,并没有融入当地的圈子。闲聊的时候不要动不动就提到你自己的国家和文化,除非是对异国文化特别有兴趣的,不然没人上班的时候听你讲这些。很多中国人特别喜欢扎堆,然后一跟外国人说话都是“In China....”或者是“We are Chinese, so we don't ....",这样你让同事接什么,只能回你一句“Interesting”然后走人。试想一下一个印度同事天天跟你说,"Indians usually...",你有兴趣一直听吗?
- NO POLITICS
曾经有一个同事居然在一次Team Building的午餐会上当着所有同事的面大谈特谈两岸关系。我用余光都能看到,一半的人根本不知道他在讲什么,另一半的人觉得很尴尬,并且所有的人都不Care。大哥你没事吧,不知道在公司里不要谈论政治啊,还这么没完没了。
- No Sex/Drugs
这些是常识,不赘述。
高阶版
- Workout
如果你本身是健身的人,并且对方的身材看着也像是练过的,那么这是一个非常容易Connect的话题。但是注意,这个话题只适合一对一或者在场所有人都健身,如果还有其他人并且不健身的,就容易把他们Exclude。
Do you workout?
Yeah. A lot.
What do you usually do? Where do you go for workout? How many times per week? What's your performance goal? Are you trying to build muscle or lose fat? How frequently do you cheat?
你们俩可以就这一个话题华丽丽地聊一个小时,尤其是碰到真正热爱健身的人,甚至有可能周末会约你一起锻炼。
- Tease your BIG BOSS
这也是一个看人下菜碟的话题。如果你的老板是男性,且是那种非常随和的风格,适当地开一点玩笑可以显得你很幽默,同时他很平易近人(这是帮助老板提升形象)。注意这个方法越大的老板越好用,因为大老板大多比较淡定,小老板才比较容易斤斤计较。
Boss: Could you send me the report before 3PM?
Employee: Sure. I'll send it to you right away. Oh, can I ask something in return? (Evil smile)
Boss: .... What is that...?
Employee: Hahaha. Could you sign the request of XXX? We already talked about.
Boss: Ohhh.. Wait, do I need to sign it? I thought it will go through automatically. Nevermind, I'll get it done today.
Employee: Yes, per procedure you need to sign. By the way, are you sure you're my manager?
- Joke about their nationality, but carefully.
我们公司有超多法国人,法国人的共同特点是只喝Espresso。我被无数法国同事/老板嘲笑,说我喝的加牛奶的就不是咖啡了。所以如果有法国同事在开会之前问我:
Do you want a coffee?
Am I getting an espresso?
Yes. That's the REAL coffee.
Oh French.... No thanks.
在针对对方的国籍开玩笑的时候一定要注意,如果是很中性的事情,比如喝咖啡的习惯,这你可以开玩笑。但是如果玩笑的内容带有贬义成分,就千万不要任意妄为。
- Be Funny and Troublesome
我最常用的梗是:
Hey, can I ask you a question? No.
Hey, can I ask you a question? Sure, but how much shall I charge you?
Hey, can I ask you a question? How many questions have you asked today? Three or four? You're done with your quota today. Leave it for tomorrow.
前段时间我因为需要看很多合同,就换了一个大手机。在这个充满工程师的公司里,手机刚拿到大家就络绎不绝地来我办公室看。再加上那个众人皆知的“可掰弯”的梗,这个手机瞬间变得很可谈。
Can I bend it? NOOOOO. Stay away from it!!
Shall I put a sign on top of it saying "DON'T BEND IT"?
Have you seen the iRoller? Could you make me one, Mr.Engineer?
体育也是很好的话题。美国四大球,NFL、NHL和职棒基本上中国人很难聊起来,但NBA还是一个很好的话题。
另一个好话题是宠物,家里养只狗,八杆子打不着的同事都来问候你全家了。”
最后多说一句,个人认为雅思托福的分数只是帮你拿到一纸录取通知,完全不足以判断与本地人交流的能力,尤其是长期在国外生活工作的人。语言学了是拿来用的,不是拿来考试的。