Teacher’s Notes
Lesson Focus: Conversation to get and give information.
Level: Intermediate - advanced
Preparation: Photocopy the handouts so each student has one.
Step Time Description
1 3-5 mins Introduce the social club, go over the first paragraph and get
students to discuss at their tables the last time they met a lot of
people (at a party/business function/whatever). If you have one,
share a funny story.
2 5-7 mins Go over the next paragraph, then onto the first step (Come
prepared). Read the paragraph (or have a student read) then get
them to make introduction questions. These should be what comes
after “Hi, my name’s ….”.
3 15-20 Repeat for the other steps. There is no activity for the “Listen” step.
mins Give them 5 mins to complete each activity.
4 3-7 mins The True/False questions about appearance give more detail about
how to make a good impression. The answers and more details are
below. You can go into more/less detail here if you are ahead or
behind time.
5 15-20 Mingle – students each have a card with a “get” and “give” list.
mins They should mingle and try to get information for each of the points
on their “get” list.
6 2 mins Wrap up the mingle activity. Did everyone get what they needed?
Close off the lesson.
Answer Key
-Don’t cross your arms or legs (T) it might make you seem defensive or guarded.
Keep your arms and legs open.
-Relax your shoulders (T) when you feel tense it easily winds up as tension in your
shoulders. They might move up and forward a bit. Try to relax. Try to loosen up by
shaking the shoulders a bit and move them back slightly.
-Touch your face (F) it might make you seem nervous and can be distracting for the
listeners or the people in the conversation.
-Lean, but not too much (T) If you want to show that you are interested in what
someone is saying, lean toward the person talking. If you want to show that you’re
confident in yourself and relaxed lean back a bit. But don’t lean in too much or you
might seem needy and desperate for some approval. Or lean back too much or you
might seem arrogant and distant.
-Use your hands when you talk (T) instead of fidgeting with your hands and
scratching your face use them to communicate what you are trying to say. Use your
hands to describe something or to add weight to a point you are trying to make. But
don’t use them to much or it might become distracting. And don’t let your hands
flail around, use them with some control.
-Nod when they are talking (T) nod once in a while to signal that you are listening.
But don’t overdo it and peck like Woody Woodpecker.
-Look intently at the other person (F) If there are several people you are talking to,
give them all some eye contact to create a better connection and see if they are
listening. Keeping too much eye-contact might creep people out. Giving no eye-
contact might make you seem insecure.
-Don’t slouch, sit up straight (T) but in a relaxed way, not in a too tense manner.
-Copy the other person’s movements (T) Often when you get along with a person,
when the two of you get a good connection, you will start to mirror each other
unconsciously. That means that you mirror the other person’s body language a bit.
To make the connection better you can try a bit of proactive mirroring. If he leans
forward, you might lean forward. If she holds her hands on her thighs, you might do
the same. But don’t react instantly and don’t mirror every change in body language.
-Stand as close as you can to the other person. (F) everybody gets freaked out by
a close-talker. Let people have their personal space, don’t invade it.
Conversations Made Easy
Think about a time when you had an opportunity to meet a lot of people; maybe
make some business contacts or new friends. How did it go? Were you relaxed
or nervous? What would you have liked to do differently? Discuss with your
group.
Meeting new people is even harder when you have to speak English. If you are not
confident in your English ability, then you will feel nervous and it will be difficult to
make a good impression. But there are some things you can do to make it easier…
Come prepared
Have some opening lines ready so that you can start off quickly and smoothly. Things
like “What brings you here today?” or “What did you think about the presentation?” are
good ways to start.
With a partner, think of some ways to open a conversation in each of these situations.
At a business lunch:
At a friend’s birthday party:
At a bus stop:
Create an agenda
There are two things to think about in a conversation. Information you want to get, and
information you have to give.
On your “get” list, put things like connections into a company, where to get
cheap clothes or a recommendation for a movie.
On your “give” list, put things that you know about – hobbies, areas you are
interested in, people you know, etc. You don’t need to tell everything about
yourself, but if you only take information, then it looks quite bad.
Make a list of things that you would be happy to give.
Look around at the other students and make a list of thing you want to get from them.
Be confident
When people are looking down, walking slowly with their shoulders hunched, what do
you think of them? What about someone who enters a room standing straight, smiling
and looking positive?
Think about what kind of signals you send to other people with your appearance and
body language. What are some things that are important for making a good impression?
Listen
When there are a lot of people to meet, it is easy to get distracted by others rather than
focusing on the conversation at hand. Remember that you want to get something from
this person. People always feel more comfortable if you pay attention to them and give
them time to explain themselves.
Show appreciation
When the conversation is starting to wind down, make sure that you don’t just walk
away. Thank the person for the conversation and the information they have given you. A
sentence like: “Well, it was nice to meet you. Thanks for the advice about the restaurant
– I’ll have to try it sometime.” is a good way to finish.
What are some good ways to finish off a conversation?
Positive body language is vital for making a good impression. Below are some tips for
how to improve your body language. Which ones are true and which ones are false?
-Don’t cross your arms or legs -Nod when they are talking
-Relax your shoulders -Look intently at the other person
-Touch your face -Don’t slouch, sit up straight
-Lean, but not too much -Copy the other person’s movements
-Use your hands when you talk -Don’t stand too close
Print and cut the cards, distribute one to each student.
Get Get
-A recommendation for a movie to see -Someone to help with your report on
with your girl/boyfriend. Shakespeare’s sonnets.
-A good recipe to try at home. -You’re interested in golf lessons.
-A study partner (English literature major) -You’ve been feeling unwell since last
week and you’re not sure if it’s serious.
Give
-You know about Shakespeare (you love Give
his sonnets) -Your favourite movie is “Memento”. It’s
-Your brother is an executive at Caltex (oil a psychological thriller movie.
company) -You lived in America for 12 months.
Get Get
-You’re going to America for your -Your major is architecture. You can’t
honeymoon, but you’re not sure where to think of a famous building that you are
go. interested in studying.
-You majored in chemistry and want to get -You want to try something new. Maybe a
a job at an oil company. new restaurant?
-You’re looking for a good gym close to -Your favourite baseball team is the
your house in Mokdong. Doosan Bears. You think they will easily
win this season.
Give
-You have a high school friend who owns Give
an office supply shop. -You work out at World Gym in Yeouido.
-You work as a doctor. It’s expensive, but the facilities are really
-You go to a gym in Shinchon. It’s great good.
value for money! -You’ve been an amateur sommelier for
several years.
Get Get
-You need to know what kind of wine goes -You’re very interested in archaeology,
with beef. especially dinosaurs.
-You’re an amateur actor and want to find -You try to go skiing whenever you have a
more parts on TV. chance. You are happy to travel to go
-You’re thinking about studying an MBA. skiing.
-You love thriller movies.
Give
-You are an architect. Your favourite Give
building is the Sydney Opera house. -You are a professional golf player.
-You often go roller-blading in Yeouido Sometimes you give lessons.
park on the weekends. -You’ve heard that “Cool Kats” is a great
jazz club.
Get Get
-You like jazz music, especially going to -You want to cook dinner for your
clubs to hear live bands. girl/boyfriend. French food would be
-Sometimes you play music as well, but good.
want someone to help you learn to play -You want to start playing basketball
jazz music. again. Maybe you can train with someone
-It’s hard to find cheap office supplies. here?
Maybe someone knows where to get -You’ve heard about “Jumper” (a movie)
them? but you’re not sure if it’s good or not.
Give Give
-You just saw “Jumper” (a movie) on the -You went to Orchid Thai restaurant on
weekend. It was great! Saturday – it was not that great.
-You work as an agent for actors and -You’ve just come back from a holiday in
singers (finding them work). Switzerland. It was fantastic, especially
the skiing.
Get Get
-You’ve never tried Indian food but you’ve -You love coffee, but normally just drink
heard it’s fantastic. Starbucks. You want to try some new
-You’re an English literature major and kinds.
want to study with someone. -You’ve just started roller-blading and
-You’re thinking about studying in want to practice with someone.
America, but you’re not sure where to go. -You like singing and think you could be a
professional someday.
Give
-Your uncle works as an archaeologist. He Give
just found some new dinosaur bones. -Your favourite baseball team is the Lotte
-You love coffee. You worked as a barista Giants. You’ve been a fan since you were
for 2 years before studying architecture. 10.
-You play in a jazz band on the weekends.
Get Get
-You’re looking for a gym to join, but you -You’ve always wanted to try to cook
don’t want one that’s too expensive. French food.
-Normally you go to dance clubs, but you -You want to find cheap office supplies for
want to try something different, like jazz. your work.
-You’ve just applied for a job at Caltex -You need to take golf lessons to improve
and want to make some contacts there. your swing.
Give Give
-You love cooking, especially French -You work as a lecturer for the MBA
food. program at Seoul National University.
-You love Michael Jordan and have played -You love Indian food, and Ganga is the
basketball since you were in high school. best place for it. It’s expensive though.