Period 1: Reading—How Good Are Your Social Skill?
Objectives
●To read about social skills
●To learn to read with strategies
Focus
Words
lack, advance, nod, yawn, sigh, tidy, refund, reply, imagine, apologize
Expressions
in advance (of sth), tidy sth away, tidy sth up, do sb no favours, in favour (of sb/sth), in sb’s favour, in/ under the circumstances, in/ under no circumstances
Patterns
1. It helps if you do a little advance planning.
2. Have some low-risk conversation openers ready.
3. Do…keep good eye contact.
4. Don’t …look at your watch.
4. Talk to a man about himself, and he will speak to you for hours!”
Aids Multimedia facilities, tape-recorder, photos, diagrams
Procedures
▇Warming up by having a “small talk”
Hello, class! Look at this photo. Who do you think it is? Yes, it is Li Yu Chun.
When I passed by the square of the Raffle's city, one of the most crowded area in Shanghai, I was surrounded by a group of girls. They are fans of Li Yu Chun, the leading singer of the Super Girl contest. They tried to persuade me to vote for Li Yu Chun with my mobile. It will cost me 1 RMB but will help Yu Chun to have more possibility to win the contest.
They hold 5 big pictures of their super star in hand, and hold them high, so everyone can see. The group of girls are made up of about 10 persons. I didn't take my camera with me, otherwise I would record it - very impressive.
About 50 meters away are the fans of Zhou Bi Chang, the second runner after Li. Their fans are doing the same. The hot compon has urged many fans go to the street and ask people passing by to send SMS for their supported girl.
Last week, Li Yu Chun got 1.8 million SMS support from every corner of the country. I get this week, this number may double since it is the final and 2 more left the game and there is only 3 persons in the show. Last week, Li Yu Chun helped China Mobile, SP and Hunan TV to win almost 2 million RMB from SMS only. That is amazing.
It's just like a president election. Super Girl is a vivid marketing, planning case study for business persons around the country.
By the way, what I talk to you just now is an example of “small talk”. Let’s turn to page 1 to learn more about it.
What is small talk?
●Light conversation: polite conversation about matters of little importance, especially between people who do not know each other well
●Small talk is pleasant conversation about common interests.
●Polite conversation about trivial or uncontroversial matters.
●Casual or trivial conversation.
●Light informal conversation for social occasions
■Discussing how to make small talk
Small talk can be a big challenge, but a little preparation and confidence is all you need.
★Steps:
1. Practice. Converse with everyone you come across: cashiers, waiters, people you're in line with, neighbors, co-workers and kids. Chat with folks unlike yourself, from seniors to teens to tourists.
2. Read everything: cookbooks, newspapers, magazines, reviews, product inserts, maps, signs and catalogs. Everything is a source of information that can be discussed.
3. Force yourself to get into small talk situations, like doctors' waiting rooms, cocktail parties and office meetings. Accept invitations, or host your own gathering.
4. Immerse yourself in culture, both high and low. Television, music, sports, fashion, art and poetry are great sources of chat. If you can't stand Shakespeare, that too is a good topic for talk.
5. Keep a journal. Write down funny stories you hear, beautiful things you see, quotes, observations, shopping lists and calls you made. That story of the long-distance operatormisunderstanding you could become an opening line.
6. Talk to yourself in the mirror. Make a random list of topics and see what you have to say on the subjects. Baseball, Russia, butter, hip-hop, sho
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