Continuing our series on business travel ( see BEP 55, BEP 56 & BEP 66), this intermediate business ESL podcast covers informal greetings and conversations in the workplace.

What are some examples of informal English you can use to greet your work mates? How do you make friendly chitchat with your colleagues? What kinds of topics can you talk about? We’ll be looking at some answers. In particular, we’ll cover informal greetings and how to chat about movies. As almost everyone loves to go to the cinema, movies are usually a good topic for small talk.

Key Language: Informal Greetings & Talking about Movies.

Premium Members (Sign up):		Online activities (Members / Free Trial)
Study Notes	Phrases & Practice	BEP 67 INT – Informal Greetings – Quiz BEP 67 INT – Informal Greetings – Gap-fill BEP 67 INT – Informal Greetings – Dialog & Vocabulary BEP 67 INT – Informal Greetings – Language 1 BEP 67 INT – Informal Greetings – Language 2 BEP 67 INT – Informal Greetings – Flashcards

Listening Questions: BEP 67 INT – Morning Greeting and Chat

1) What does Brenda mean when she says “veg out”?

This is a slang expression. “Veg” is short for vegetable. As Brenda says, “to veg out” means to relax. It usually refers to doing something that requires no mental effort, like watching TV. Imagine yourself sitting on the couch like a vegetable.

2) What are critics and what did they think about Rush Hour 3?

“Critics” are professional film watchers (journalists) who write reviews for magazines or newspapers. As Brenda explains, they didn’t pan it – that is say it was really bad – but they didn’t rave either – that is say it was really good.

3) How does Brenda like her coffee?

Brenda drinks coffee with no cream and sugar, but she likes Equal, which is a sugar substitute with no calories.