Is every conversation at work important for your career?
Some people think so.
I think you have to be able to be very confident and be able to show off a little bit.
Like, this is what I do, this is why I'm good at it, and this is why we should work together.
Small Talk is great in the way that it breaks the ice before you can find something interesting to talk about with the other person.
In this episode of Office English, we're finding out how to be professional at work events and master the art of Small Talk, which is what we call talking about unimportant things.
Welcome to Office English from BBC Learning English, your podcast guide to the language of the workplace.
I'm Phil.
And I'm Pippa.
In this podcast, we talk about the words and phrases that can help you through even the most stressful situations at work.
And today we're talking about work events.
Maybe it's a festive work party.
Maybe you're at a conference or awards ceremony, or maybe you just need something to talk about with your colleagues over lunch.
Yes, there are lots of times when we might need to speak in English at work when we're not even doing work at all, and when we use these opportunities to improve our professional relationships.
This is called networking.
Are you any good at networking, Pippa?
I'm not sure, really.
I think I'm probably quite bad at networking when I don't know somebody because I get really nervous.
I'm maybe a bit better once I start to know someone better.
So with colleagues at work, I think I'm a little bit better at developing good relationships.