Small Talk Englisch

secretaries are exchanging information about their weekend activities.
    Sec 1: Did you have a nice weekend?
    Sec 2: Oh yes, I did. My partner and I went up north to the mountains. The weather was just beautiful, the air crisp and clear. We enjoyed a nice and peaceful time at our log cabin. How about yourself?
    Sec 1: Well, nothing special, except that we tried the new restaurant, the one kitty-corner (AmE) to the new bank subsidiary. They serve German-Austrian food. It sure tastes good, but we'd better not talk about the calorie intake.
Useful phrases
    Director to secretary / Chef zur Sekretärin
Here we go again. Could you please up-date me on my appointment schedule?
Have you recovered from last week's stress?
Are you ready for another really busy and important week?
I seem to have started on the wrong foot. How about you?
    Director to staff / Chef zu den Mitarbeitern
Good morning everybody. I hope you all had a great weekend.
Could I please have everybody's attention?
I got a call from the office of R & D (Research & Development). Their presentation will be postponed.
Can everybody please listen? There's been a change for our staff meeting. It will be one hour later.
    Asking for assistance / Um Hilfe bitten
Could you please hand me the minutes of our last annual meeting?
Why don't you finish the memo firstand then finalize the job advertisement?
I need to postpone my meeting with the director of sales. Please call her and let her know.
Could you please assist me? I'd appreciate it if you could call Mrs. Smith for me and tell her …
    Polite standard phrases / Höfliche Standardsätze
I'm so sorry for the delay. We've been extremely busy.
I'm afraid Ms. Jones has stepped out of the office.
If there is anything else I can be of help with, please let me know.
I need to drop something off at the post office and the bank. Can I get you anything?
    Polite requests / Höfliche Aufforderungen
May I please use your hole puncher for a moment?
Would it be alright if I sent the interim report off tomorrow?
Would you do me a favour and help me unpack the new filing cabinet?
Could I ask you to attend the board of directors meeting with me?
I was wondering if you might be able to design new visitor badges.
    Compliments / Komplimente
You did a really great job on that report.
Well done. Keep up the good work!
Congratulations on a most interesting presentation.
Nice job on that business deal. You clearly put a lot of effort into it.
    Compliments on the looks / Komplimente für das Aussehen
Did you get a perm? It looks nice.
Your shoes look very comfortable and elegant.
Did you get a hair cut? It fits you perfectly!
I like your new shirt. That is a good color on you.
That tie looks very handsome on you.
    Talking about People / Über Personen sprechen
    Egal in welcher Situation Sie den Small Talk anwenden, früher oder später werden Sie auch über andere Personen sprechen müssen: Oh, Mary! She's really a nice person. Shehas such an outgoing personality. Vielleicht machen Sie sich Sorgen um eine Kollegin: Have you seen Eileen lately? She lost quite some weight. I hope she's doing alright. Oft müssen Sie auch einem Kollegen kurz beschreiben, wie die Person aussieht, um die sich das Gespräch gerade dreht: Remember ? He's that tall blond guy, I'd say 6'4“.
    Example 1
    JJ („JayJay“) is in his mid-forties, has a few grey hairs, and his hair is receding. He's kind of stocky and wears glasses.
Example 2
    Liz: Sue, I haven't seen you for a while. How have you been?
    Sue: Oh, I've been so busy, it's not funny.
    Did I tell you that I have a new boss? She's really nice but demanding.
    Liz: What does she look like?
    Sue: She is petite and thin. She's got dark, curly hair. She usually wears her hair combed back, in a ponytail. Overall, her physical appearance is very neat and tidy.
Useful phrases
    Description of hair and body / Beschreibung von Haaren und Körper
She has wide cheeks and her hair is completely straight and thick.
He's bald and a giant of a man.
She's slight and slender. She wears her hair in plaits (BE) / pigtails (AE).
He's on the corpulent side and his hair's thinning.
There's nothing to her. Her wig looks very real.
For his age, he's below average height. He likes his hair combed forward and with fringes.
Her husband is rather plump.
Thanks to all his workouts, he looks very muscular and he's fond of his crew cut.
    People's characters / Zur Person
You can't miss his big and friendly smile.
She is one of those