Good weather, Good feeling
Good weather, Good feeling / J i J y


実践ビジネス英語
2013/04/10 
The Power of Small Talk (4)

Breakstone says small talk can be used to acknowledge another person's presence or lead to more important dialog.
Lyons recommends the weather as a safe topic for small talk as it is something everyone has connection with. Collins says current events are also a good source of subjects, but a controversial topic should be avoided. Lyons mentions sports as another good subject. 

NHK CD ラジオ 実践ビジネス英語 2013年4月号 

スポンサーリンク

■□■□ Words and Phrases ■□■□

  • at its most basic 最も基本的には、突き詰めれば
On the most basic level, Breakstone is saying.
You can use "at its most" with a great many words.

This is competition at its most cutthroat.
John's proposal represented ingenuity at its highest level.

at its mostの次にbasicではなく他の単語を入れることもできる。例えばThis is competition at its most cutthroat.と言えば「これは最も過酷な競争である」

  • There's more to small talk than I realized. 雑談 [世間話] には私が理解していた以上のものがある。
When there's more to something than... it involves more. It's more complex than... 

There's more to learning a language than memorizing vocabulary.
There's more to being a boss than giving people orders.



  • top the list 第1位である、トップになる
Lyons means someone or something is number one in some kind of ranking.

The Louvre topped my list of things to see in Paris. /luːvrə/
Computer X topped the list in holiday sales this year.


リストの最上位にある 

  • relate to ・・・を理解する、・・・に共感する、・・・を身近に感じる
Relate has a number of meanings. In this case it's feel a personal connection with something, understand and sympathize with that thing because of the connection. 

Low-income owners can have trouble relating to the financial concerns of the rich, for example, and vice versa.

  • opening line
The line, the statement, remark that begins something. You can put opening before many different words:
the opening day of a business conference
the opening match of a tournament

会話を始める時の言葉ということ。必ずしも会話とは限らない。opening of a novelと言えば「小説の書き出しの言葉」 

  • If the weather's actually good, of course.
雨の日にBeautiful day.と言うこともある。その後にif you were a duck.などと付け加えると「いい天気ですね、アヒルにとっては」というちょっとユーモラスなopening lineになる。
( ゚∀゚)アハハ八八ノヽノヽノヽノ \ / \/ \

  • current events 時事問題、最近の出来事
The events and issues currently being covered in the news, Collins means.

Most of us read the newspaper and watch the TV news to stay abreast of current events. 

keep/stay abreast of something
to make sure that you know all the most recent and important information about something
How can anyone keep abreast of all this new technology?


  • steer clear of ((口))・・・を避ける(ようにする)
This is another way to say avoid or keep away from something, like you're maneuvering a car or some other vehicle away from it. 
You might tell a colleague, "Steer clear of Michael today. He's in a really bad mood."


  • you can't go too far wrong if ・・・であれば大きな間違いはない、・・・であればたいていうまくいく
You can't make too big a mistake, you'll do well if you do X, Lyons is saying.
Imagine you're choosing a souvenir to take back to your office colleagues.

You can't go far wrong if you buy a box of chocolates.

Most everybody likes chocolates. Or you could say,

"You can't go far wrong with the box of chocolates.

  • brief recap 短い要約(recap は recapitulation)の短縮形
A recap is a summary of something. It's short for recapitulation and much more common. I've never heard anyone ask for a recapitulation of a meeting or a business trip. 

It can also be a verb as well as a noun. You might say something like,
 
"Mary, could you recap your meeting with the client for us?"



■□■□ Daily Exercise □■□■□
 
Kay says small talk can ___ more serious conversation.

lead to

ビニェットの中でKay BreakstoneはOr it can be a kind of bridge to a more meaningful dialog.と言っている。

Why does Steve recommend the weather as a topic for small talk?

It's something that affects everybody.

Steve Lyonsはビニェットの中でIt's something everybody can relate to.と言っている。

Alyce recommends ___ controversial subjects.

avoiding

ビニェットではsteer clear ofというフレーズが使われている。~を避けるようにする。
 

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