5. With any VIP

　　5.与重要人士交谈

　　You: “Hi. My name is [Your Name]. I know you’ve probably got to make the rounds, but I didn’t want to regret not coming over and introducing myself — and letting you know that your app is genius.”

　　你：“嗨!我是【你的名字】。我知道你可能很赶时间，但没向您自我介绍，我怕会后悔，也怕后悔没告诉您，贵公司的应用程序真是天才般的设计”。

　　You might not get much more than a thank you out of the very important person, and if that’s the case, don’t take it personally. But, a compliment will often ignite a discussion, and if you truly do have something kind to say about the person’s company, program, or product, why not open with that and see where it goes.

　　从这位重要人士那里，除了一句“谢谢”，其他的你可能什么得不到。如果是这样，也别放在心上。但一句恭维话往往是交流的开始，而且对他的公司、程序或产品，如果你真有一些善意的话要对他说，那为什么不开门见山地说出来，看看最终的效果呢?

　　6. With your former boss

　　6.和前任老板交谈

　　You: “It’s so good to see you! How is everything over at [Company Name]? I read that they’re expanding [department or product]. You must be excited to be spearheading that.

　　”你：“很高兴见到你!【公司名称】一切都好吧?听说你们正在扩大【部门或产品】。成为项目领头人，你一定很兴奋吧。”

　　Ex-boss: “As a matter of fact, I am. It’s been pretty chaotic, but it’s a fun time to be busy, and I’m happy to have something to focus so keenly on…”

　　前任老板：“确实是。这项目相当复杂，但忙也是一种乐趣，我很高兴能全身心投入到……”

　　No matter what terms you ended on, you don’t want to pretend like you didn’t see your former manager over there by the cheese table. By approaching her with a pleasantry and more, you demonstrate class and character. This isn’t the first occasion you’re going to run into someone you’re not dying to talk to, but it’s like they say, practice makes perfect.

　　不管你之前离职的理由是什么，现在你都不想盯着奶酪单，假装没看见前任老板。跟她讲个笑话，或说些其他的，展现自己的品味和个性。这不是你第一次跟不喜欢的人说话，但正如人们所说，熟能生巧。

　　And even if your former manager is harboring negative feelings on your departure, she’ll probably have a hard time rebuffing your kindness.

　　即使前任老板对你的离职耿耿于怀，她也很难拒绝你的一片好意。

　　7. With the person from the department you know nothing about

　　7.与一无所知的部门成员交谈

　　You: “How’s your week going? Busy with projects?”

　　你：“这周过得怎么样?工作忙吗?”

　　Person: “Busier than usual because we’ve got [names major initiative the team is focused on].”

　　对方：“比平时要忙，我们在进行【该团队的主要项目名称】”。

　　You: “Oh, interesting. I hadn’t thought how that might affect your team. What are you working on specifically?”

　　你：“哦，那很有趣啊。没想到那个项目对你们团队有这么大的影响。你具体负责什么?”

　　By being vague in your opening, you allow for the fact that you don’t know exactly what the person does (don’t worry, he probably doesn’t know too much about your day-to-day either), but you, nonetheless, make an effort to engage him in a conversation about his work and his team and department.

　　交谈开始时，说话模糊，这是考虑到你并不明确对方的工作(不要担心，对方也可能不熟悉你的日常工作)，但是你要尽力就他的工作、团队和部门，来跟他深谈。

　　If he’s a chatty person, maybe he’ll end up painting a clear picture of his role and the projects his team is working on and you’ll have material for every subsequent meeting. Or, if he’s more reserved, you can jump in and start talking about an initiative your department is focusing on.

　　如果他很健谈，那么与他交谈后，你就会清楚地知道他的职位以及他团队负责的项目，从而为之后的见面聊天，收集了足够信息。如果他说话比较保留，那么你可以开始谈谈你们部门目前正在进行的项目。

　　8. With the boss’ significant other

　　8.与老板的爱人交谈

　　You: “It’s so nice that you were able to make it tonight. It’s always fun to meet the people we hear so much about. Susan has mentioned that you both like to cook together. What’s the best thing you’ve ever made?”

　　你：“你今晚能参加，真是太好了。久仰大名。苏珊曾说过，你们两位都喜欢烹饪，你最拿手的是什么?”

　　The S.O.: “That’s a tough one. Maybe my chicken under a brick dish…”

　　老板的爱人：“这个很难说。也许是煎炒鸡块”。

　　This starter assumes you have some recollection of something your boss has said about her significant other. If you can’t remember a darn thing, you can default to the modern, more popular way of asking what she does: “What did we tear you away from this evening?” Or: “What cool stuff have you got going on this week (besides this gathering!)?”

　　开始这样对话的前提是，你已经从老板那知道了一些他爱人的事。如果一点也记不起，那就以一种现代更为受欢迎的方式问她：“今晚没有让你失望吧?”，或者问她：“这周有什么有趣的活动吗(当然要算上这次聚会!)?”

　　With your manager’s partner, you don’t want to get too cozy and assume a familiarity that doesn’t exist, but you also don’t want to view the guest as off-limits. Just as you’re refusing to let yourself be intimidated (for long) by the seeminglyaloof colleague, you’ll also want to avoid acting nervous. If you and your supervisor already have a good working relationship, making an effort with the S.O. is only going to further that.

　　与老板的爱人交谈，你不想太过随意，假装很熟悉，也不想将这位客人视为“例外”。就像是努力不让自己(长时间)被表面冷淡的同事吓到，同时还要避免紧张的表现。如果工作上你与老板相处融洽，那么与他的爱人打好交道，会促进你跟老板的关系。

　　9. With the intern

　　9.与实习生交谈

　　You: “How was your weekend? Are you watching or reading anything really great at the moment?”

　　你：“周末过得怎么样?在看什么好剧?”

　　Intern: “It was great. Actually, I’m totally hooked on both [Netflix series] and [NBC series]. Do you watch either of them?”

　　实习生：“还不错。我确实完全沉迷于【Netflix连续剧】和【NBC连续剧】。你有看过吗?”

　　You: “I’ve heard great things about [Netflix series], but I haven’t had a chance to start it yet. I’m with you on [NBC series]. I love the actor who plays the dad.

　　你：“我听说【Netflix连续剧】很好看，但一直没有机会开始。我也在看【NBC连续剧】。我喜欢爸爸的扮演者。”

　　Once you start a dialogue about entertainment — TV, books, movies — it’s unlikely that you’ll struggle with finding more to discuss. Unless the intern lives in a cave and has no awareness of what’s going on around him, chances are, you’ll land on at least one item of shared interest, or even something you totally disagree on. You love The Americans, and he prefers House of Cards? Have at it. Nothing like a good spirited debate to carry the conversation beyond the basic, “How was your weekend?” “Good. How was yours?”

　　一旦就娱乐(电视、书籍和电影)聊起来，你就不愁找不到话说。除非这个实习生与世隔绝，否则你们总能找到共同话题，甚至是你根本不喜欢的东西，也可以讨论。你喜欢看《美国谍梦》，他喜欢看《纸牌屋》?没关系!一场激烈的争论能使你们的对话不再局限在这样一些老套的问候语中，如“周末过得怎么样?”“很好，你呢”?

　　Of course, the scenarios depicted here are, in part, pure speculation. It’s nearly impossible to know how the person on the receiving end of the conversation you start is going to respond. But, that’s not what matters. If you can master the approach and the initiation, you’ll sail through the rest of it almost always. Be yourself, be sincere, and accept that starting and carrying on amiable conversations takes a certain amount of effort for most people.

　　当然，上面描述的这些场景在某种程度上纯属虚构，因为几乎难以知道交谈对方会做出怎样的回答。但这并不要紧。如果你能掌握切入点，开始交谈，那么接下来就会无往不利。做你自己，态度真诚，并且接受下面这一事实，即开始一次亲切的交谈，并将其进行下去，对绝大多数人来说，都不是一件轻而易举的事。

（编辑：何莹莹）