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Reading and Vocabulary
You're going to read a story about a saleswoman. Discuss what kind of small talk you need as a salesperson.
The Wrong Kind of Small Talk
Esther Greenbaum was a saleswoman for a firm of fax machines and business supplies. But she was also the most outspoken human being in the world—well, Westchester County, at least. Her motto was \put my foot in it.\
Esther Greenbaum's major shortcoming was that she had a complete absence of small talk. No, that's not quite true. She had small talk, but it was the wrong kind. In fact, she had never learnt the basic rules of social communication, and as a consequence, she made systematic mistakes every time she opened her mouth. It was no coincidence either that she wasn't a very good saleswoman.
One day during a meeting, Esther was introduced to an important customer, a mature woman.
\to meet you,\she said. \old are you?\The customer looked awkward.
\she's older than you, but she looks much younger!\
On another occasion, Esther teased a typist, \
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The typist went red and contradicted Esther. \pregnant,\said.
\apology. \huh?\
Esther was never cautious about other people's feelings. One of her acquaintances, a salesman in the firm, was going through a very messy divorce and was very depressed. She tried to cheer him up.
\fool. No one liked her anyway.\
Much of the time, Esther said the first thing to come into her head. One day at work, a clerk came into the office with a new hairstyle. \haircut,\The woman replied, \
Esther replied, \anyhow, either you paid too much or you paid too little.\
She met a very famous writer once. \what a coincidence!\she said. \
The trouble with Esther was she said what she thought, and didn't think about what she said. A young man was trying to be modest about his new job many miles away.
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\guess the company chose me so they'd get some peace in the office,\he smiled.
\I guess they chose you to discourage you from spending your whole career with us,\
Once, Esther went to a brunch party to meet some old school friends on the anniversary of their graduation. She greeted the hostess.
\happened to him?\asked. \
At that moment, a man came up and stood by her friend. \to meet my husband,\Esther interrupted her, \Read the passage and answer the questions.
1. What did Esther often do when she spoke to others?
2. What do you think are \3. Why did the customer look awkward when she was asked how old she was?
4. How did the typist contradict Esther?
5. What was wrong about Esther's advice to the salesman? 6. What did Esther think of the clerk's haircut?
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7. Why did the young man think the company gave him a new job miles away?
8. What did Esther think of her old school friend's husband?
Read the passage and find:
1. three things you can say when you make small talk 2. two things you should not say
3. one way of replying to questions which you don't wish to answer 4. The style of this passage is meant to be humourous and exaggerated. You look much older. And your friend, she's older than you, but she
Example: looks much younger!
5. Look for more examples of humour and exaggeration in the passage. Look at the new words in the box.
absence; acquaintance; anniversary; apology; awkward; brunch; cautious; clerk; customer; fax; firm; fool; haircut; hostess; human being; interrupt; mature; messy; motto; outspoken; pregnant; saleswoman; shortcoming; tease; typist Find words for:
1. a place of work: 2. people or jobs: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; -!
3. things you say or write: ; ; ; ; 4. personal characteristics / appearance: ; 5. a physical state: 6. a meal: Note: Not all the words fit these categories. Answer the questions about the words in the box.
absence; acquaintance; anniversary; apology; awkward; brunch; cautious; clerk; customer; fax; firm; fool; haircut; hostess; human being; interrupt; mature; messy; motto; outspoken; pregnant; saleswoman; shortcoming; tease; typist
1. When is the next important anniversary in your life? 2. Do people ever tease you? 3. Can you think of a personal motto?
4. When was the last apology you have given or received? 5. What are you cautious about?
6. Do you know anyone who is outspoken?
Discuss the questions and give reasons for your answers.
1. Is small talk important in your society? 2. Is it as important as \
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