先来看看何为Small Talk?

Small Talk:

Conversation without real meaning; conversation without any particular purpose;conversation about general subjects;conversation one starts with unfamiliar¹ people in order to be more involved; conversation used to make friends with new people;conversation used to make the atmosphere better.

没有具体意义的对话；没有特殊目的的对话；关于大众话题的对话；为了进一步融入而展开的与陌生人的对话；为了结交新朋友而展开的对话；为了使气氛更融洽而展开的对话。

常用话题：

1.How was your flight or train ride? Perhaps the first question you would ask them, out of politeness.

旅途如何？这可能是你首先该问的问题，比较礼貌。

2.How is your hotel? If they have already checked into a hotel, you can ask if their accommodations are acceptable² to them. Just another polite question.

你的旅馆如何？如果他们已经入住的话，你可以问问他们觉得住宿是否可心，这又是一个比较礼貌的问题哦。

3.Do you play any sports? / Do you play golf? This is a good question to ask Western businessmen especially. Most of them do play golf - it has become very, very common in recent years. Others might play tennis, squash³ or basketball. Most Western women do yoga or at least go to the gym.

你做什么运动吗？你打高尔夫吗？这个是可以问西方商务人士的很典型的话题。大多数西方商务人士都打高尔夫，近些年，高尔夫已经成为一项非常常见的运动。也有一些可能会打网球，壁球或者篮球的。大部分西方女士做瑜伽或者至少会去健身所运动。

4.How’s the weather like in your country? Whereabouts are you from?

你们国家天气如何？你来自具体哪个地方呢？

5.Do you have children? That should be plenty of casual⁴ conversation. American businessmen especially like to get down to business without too much small talk. After your meeting, you could go to a bar or pub⁵ to get to know each other better. Your foreign friend will be more relaxed and more talkative in that situation

你有孩子吗？像这类轻松的话题还很多。美国商人特别喜欢直接进入商务话题，所以过多寒暄就不必了。你们会面之后，你们可以去酒吧或酒馆来进一步了解彼此。那时你的外国友人会更加放松，也更健谈些。

All right, 接下来就是get down to business了！