Business English- Meeting People & Cultural Differences

A LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS

Starting conversations in different situations cultural training and useful phrases

By: Alex Case

Level: All Levels

Theme: Profession, work or study

Study Area: Functions & Text

Download Lesson Plan (PDF) 103 KB

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Lesson Plan Content:

Meeting people in business cultural differences and phrases

Introduce yourself to the other people in the class.

Do the same again, but this time meeting again after some time.

How similar or different were those conversations to how you usually do so in business in your own language?

Here are some descriptions of introducing yourself and meeting people in Japan. Which ones are true of your typical business dealings?

“I’d like to introduce myself” is quite often the very start of the conversation
New employees often stand up in front of the whole department and give a “self-introduction” speech
Japanese people often have a ready prepared introductionary speech to use whenever the meet people
People often mention their company name before their own name
It is more common to mention your company than your job title
“Nice to meet you” often goes before hearing the other person’s name
Bowing is obligatory
Eye contact is brief
The phrases when you meet someone are quite fixed, and the replies are exactly the same
If you meet a large group of people you say the same things to each person
There isn’t much difference between formal and informal introductions
Exchanging business cards tends to be early on
Business cards should be handed over with both hands and with the text the right way up for the other person to read
Business cards should be examined carefully
Comments on business cards are often just be confirming their name or commenting on where their office is
Business cards should be placed on the table during the meeting and then put in a dedicated business card holder
Never write anything on another person’s business card
It is fairly easy to signal the end of a conversation
Conversation endings are fairly short

Which nationalities do you do business with? How are those things similar or different in their countries, do you think?

What phrases are associated with these things from above?

Starting conversations

Introducing new members of staff

Questions about the other person

Talking about your job and company

Phrases after giving your name

Exchanging business cards\

Commenting on business cards

Ending conversations

Check your answers with the next page.

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