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[Music]
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hi there this is teacher Harry here and
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welcome back to my lessons and the
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lesson today is all about English
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phrases for small talk English phrases
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for small talk so what does that mean
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well as you probably know small talk is
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a very important part of the English
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language it's the beginning of many
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conversations it's the ending of many
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conversations when people are in
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elevators or lifts before and at the end
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of business meetings small talk is
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really important and many many of the
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the students who come to me want to
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understand Small Talk how to begin a
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conversation how to end a conversation
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because they usually know and I'm sure
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you're the same you usually know the
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technical language you want to use if
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you're having a conference call but you
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might feel a little bit insecure or a
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little bit embarrassed or shy about
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entering the conversation at the
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beginning or at the end when they're
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using small talk so this lesson is going
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to help you hopefully with that so I'm
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going to give you small talk on
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different topics so as we said this is
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English phrases for small talk and as
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always I really appreciate it if you
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could subscribe to my channel and you
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can also listen to me on my podcast and
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at the end of the lesson I'm going to
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give you my contact details should you
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wish to contact me okay so let's get
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started so the first small talk is about
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the opening conversation so when you're
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meeting somebody in the elevator as I
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said or at the beginning of a
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presentation or nowadays at the
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beginning of Zoom perhaps while you're
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waiting for the boss or who Whoever has
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organized the meeting while you're
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waiting for them to join there may be a
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little bit of small talk so what sort of
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opening conversations can you have let
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me give you a few hi I'm Harry what
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brings you here so if you're meeting in
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a a bar or you're meeting in a a
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conference room you know hi I'm Harry
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what brings you here so it's a very
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informal way of asking the person why
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are they coming to this particular
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conference or why are they attending
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this particular
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meeting hi I'm Harry is this your first
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time here there another way of getting
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the conversation started because then
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you're asking the person is this the
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first time they've been to this College
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event is this the first time they've
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been to these lectures is this the first
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time they they've been to this Sports
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Hall or gym or yoga session whatever it
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might be this is a way for you to start
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the conversation so hi I'm Harry is this
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your first time here it's my first time
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is this your first time here okay or you
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can even ask the person hi I'm Harry
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what are you here for meaning so what's
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your reason for being here okay so we
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can ask them that in the same way or if
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we're meeting somebody that we haven't
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seen seen for a period of time then the
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best way to to start the small talk with
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them is oh hi Peter hi Michael wow long
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time no see yeah long time no see
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meaning it's been a long long time since
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we met now it could be weeks it could be
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months it even could be years there's no
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definition of what that time should be
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but you know oh hi Pete long time no see
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or hi Pete it's great to see you again
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yeah hi Pete it's great to see you again
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and that will get you started yeah oh I
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haven't seen you for ages or I haven't
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seen you in ages you can use either of
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those prepositions I haven't seen you
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for ages I haven't seen you in ages yeah
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how are things yeah meaning how is your
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life how are things being how is your
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business how is your family just
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generally how are things so really
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really informed okay so there the
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opening conversations now as always
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particularly if you're talking to people
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in Western Europe particularly the UK
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and here in in Ireland the weather is a
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really important part of small talk so
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you need to have conversational
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Expressions that you can use if the
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weather comes up so here's a few oh
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beautiful day isn't it yeah so if you're
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just talking about the the weather
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you're looking at the window oh
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beautiful day isn't it or if it's not
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such a beautiful day you might say oh
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miserable day isn't it wow it's really
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so wet I haven't seen rain like this in
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a a long time or oh miserable day
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typical typical of Ireland typical of
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the UK typical of London so good day oh
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beautiful day isn't it so you might
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raise the intonation in your voice
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beautiful day isn't it yeah so you you
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give that intonation or oh miserable day
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isn't it so you speak down a little bit
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because you might be a little bit sad as
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everybody else would be because the
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weather is so bad so beautiful or
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miserable change the intonation and then
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you use isn't it yeah sort of a sort of
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rhetorical
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question it looks like it's going to
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snow it looks like it's going to rain so
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again you're putting forward a a
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suggestion or what you think based on
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your experience oh yeah it looks like
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it's going to snow or it wouldn't
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surprise me if it snows it wouldn't
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surprise me if it
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rains well it'd be great if it rains we
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haven't had a drop of rain in weeks yeah
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we haven't had a drop of rain in weeks
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we haven't had a drop of rain four weeks
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so again talking about the weather a hot
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summer if you're lucky enough to have a
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hot dry summer or be great to have some
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rain we haven't had rain in weeks we
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haven't had rain four weeks okay so very
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typical sentences Expressions that you
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can use that'll get you into those
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conversations particularly when they're
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talking about the
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weather okay so when we're talking small
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talk a lot of the conversation is about
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catching up with people so what sort of
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expressions or phrases can you use when
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you're literally catching up with them
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trying to find out what has happened in
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their life since the last time that you
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met so something like oh the last time I
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saw you you were changing your job or
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the last time I saw you you were
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expecting a baby or the last time I saw
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you you were going to write a book you
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know so whatever it might be it leads it
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into the conversation so the last time I
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saw you you were and then you're leaving
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the opening for them yeah okay did you
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end up getting that promotion no so it
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could be to do with the job did you end
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up getting that promotion did you end up
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getting that new job that you applied
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for did you end up doing that traveling
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that you had promis
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yourself I remember you were planning to
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go on a world Cruise or you were
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planning to start a new business or you
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are planning to take up jogging or
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tennis or whatever the the sport might
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be so again leading you into certain
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questions about the activities they may
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or may have been about to do the last
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time that you met
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them did you hear about the business did
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you hear about the guys we went to
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college with did you hear about Mrs
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Murphy who used to live around the
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corner from us okay so just again
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introducing a topic that will get your
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colleague or the person you're talking
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to to
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continue the
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conversation well you won't believe it
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when I tell you what has happened to me
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you won't believe it when you you hear
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the story about our ex boss do you
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remember that guy yeah well yeah and
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then you go on to tell the
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story wait till I tell you wait till I
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tell you the last time you know we met
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there on a Friday well the very next day
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my car got stolen or something happened
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okay so these are good ways to catch up
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introduce you to them as to what's
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happened to you and then you ask asking
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them what has happened to them okay so
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just let me give them to you one more
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time the last time I saw you you were
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whatever yeah did you end up getting
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that promotion did you end up doing
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whatever you were going to do I I
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remember you were planning to okay did
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you hear
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about you won't believe it when I tell
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you wait till I tell you okay so good
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ways to get into conversations about
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catching up with
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somebody okay so the next few little uh
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sentences about where you want to ask
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somebody specifically about their
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business or about their work or about
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their studies what what they've been
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focusing on okay are you still working
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for the company in the High Street are
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you still working for that it company
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are you still working in the local
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hospital so how are your studies going
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are you nearly finished you must be
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almost finished your stud Studies by now
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what year are you
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in or just generally so how's work going
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now what's work like these
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days how do you like working remotely so
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if you want to bring it right up to
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Modern Times And that's a very popular
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topic and will be a popular topic for
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some time now about the difference
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between working in the offices or
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working remotely so now what do you
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think about working remotely how's it
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going for you do you like it do you not
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like it okay
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okay so if you meet somebody and you
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want to ask them about other people in
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their lives okay so it could be their
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family it could be business colleagues
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it could be people they you used to hang
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around with together if you were in
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University together or in the fa same
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football club whatever it might be so
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there are ways in which you can make an
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inquiry about other people connected to
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them so how are the kids getting big I'm
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sure yeah how's Adam doing yeah how's
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Mary did she actually get
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married oh please say hi to your your
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wife for me when when you when you get
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home or please say hi to the the guys on
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the football team I haven't seen them
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for ages since I stopped playing or
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please give my regards to all the gang
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please give my regards to your wife
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please give my regards to your sister I
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remember that holiday we had it was
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really great fun okay so you're
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inquiring or asking about other people
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and you want to pass on your regards you
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want to just find out what they're doing
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and how they're getting on with
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life of course when we're meeting people
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what we really like to do is talk about
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other people because usually they're not
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there and it's a a great way of having
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some small talk have you seen Mary
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recently did did you see what David was
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doing yeah so those type of
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conversations so so here are some
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expressions and phrases you you might
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like to
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use oh have you seen Michael recently
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got a really interesting hairstyle yeah
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I'm not so sure it's suitable to the
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office yeah or have you heard from David
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I believe he's stopped working and he's
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traveling around the world so just a way
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of finding out or introducing certain
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topics of people what they're doing or
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what they might have changed in their
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lives or did you see he got married
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again or oh he finally got married so
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you again you're introducing
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conversational pieces about other people
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and if you want to be very nice to
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people or speak nicely about people then
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you might make comments about their new
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look how they look and if that happens
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to be the person you're talking to then
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you might be very complimentary of
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course about how they've changed so oh I
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like your new hairstyle wow yeah oh
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you've really lost weight that workout
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in the gym has really worked wonders
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yeah so you introduce nice topics that
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make that person feel good they smile
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and therefore the conversation will
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continue in a happy
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mood I really love those shoes where did
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you get them wow I'd love a pair like
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that myself they really suit that dress
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or they really suit those trousers or
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wow they really look
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smart wow you look great so just as
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simple you look great you don't have to
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make any comment about anything else
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about the weight or the hair or whatever
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it might be wow you look great it's it's
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great to see you
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again oh you've got glasses they really
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suit you yeah they're really stylish wow
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yeah where did you get them yeah so
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again comments on their appearance
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comments on the look what they are
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wearing what they've done to themselves
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all complimentary of course so nothing
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that's negative and the conversation
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will will continue because the the
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danger with small talk is you say
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something that somebody wasn't expecting
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it might be a little bit of a shock and
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the conversation will stop dead and
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people will be looking each other a
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little bit embarrassed so you want to be
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complimentary and open to allow the
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conversation to
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continue okay so then when when all of
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the uh business is done for the day the
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meetings are over whatever has happened
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the conference has ended then we've got
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small talk to do with closing
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conversations and you know people some
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people get up and they just disappear or
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some people are hanging around having a
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coffee or whatever it might be so this
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is the ideal opportunity for
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conversation to strike up again and
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again you don't want to be left in the
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in the dark you don't to be left on the
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the end of the conversation just looking
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at people you want to be able to join in
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and contribute so here are some
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conversational pieces for closing
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conversations oh look sorry I've really
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got to go but give me a number let's
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catch up or give me your email and I'll
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I'll drop you a line okay oh look I'd
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better let you go I've taken up so much
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of your time I'm sure you want to get
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your bus I'm sure you want to get home
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to the the wife and kids
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okay well it was really great talking to
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you that we've got we we must catch up
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again soon yeah it's it's really been
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wonderful it's been amazing i' I've
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haven't seen you for such a long time so
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it's great to get all of the
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news look let's catch up again soon
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let's do it again soon it's let's not
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wait until the next meeting so give me a
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shout we'll get together for coffee or
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we'll get the the family together look
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I'm really sorry but I I I have to leave
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now is that okay I'll I'll talk to you
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later or I'll drop you a line or I'll
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send you on that document that I
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promised
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look it's time for me to to head out I
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I'm going to to catch a train can I give
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you a lift or do you want to share a
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taxi or if you're walking my way perhaps
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we could walk there together okay so
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again nice soft easy comfortable ways of
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ending conversation so that you can
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leave or you can just say your goodbyes
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or you can just make sure that the
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contact or the communication is going to
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continue either by email or by WhatsApp
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whatever it might be when when you
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contact these people so the next time
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you meet them there's no embarrassing
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gaps Okay so we've looked at the
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beginning of the conversation how to
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open the conversation we've looked at
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different topics that might come up and
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particularly the weather and also things
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like sport will always come up how
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people look is another uh topic that
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will always come up because people if
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they haven't met you for a long time
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will would like to let you know that
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it's good to see you and that you're
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looking well and then finally how to
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close those convers how to get out of a
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an awkward situation perhaps there oh
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look I really have to go now or oh is
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that the time so you find a way to just
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say look back out I need to go I need to
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get my train or I need to get that bus
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or indeed if the conversation is a
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little bit boring and you're a little
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bit bored it's an ideal way for you to
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just to back out and not sound a little
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bit too rude okay well hopefully those
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small talk and those phrases about small
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talk will help you if there's anything
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else that you want any small talk
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conversations that come your way and
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you'd like to have some help we drop me
00:16:04
a line and I'll give you some heads up
00:16:06
on that and we'll be able to work
00:16:08
through them as I said at the beginning
00:16:10
please subscribe to the channel and you
00:16:12
can listen to me quite easily on the
00:16:13
podcast and if you want to contact me
00:16:15
well then you can do so on
00:16:17
www.english lonv skype.com very happy to
00:16:20
hear from you very happy to see what you
00:16:22
are doing and what you want me to do for
00:16:24
you and until the next time thanks for
00:16:26
listening cheers
