| Wang Fei: | Hello and welcome to The English We Speak. I'm Wang Fei. |
| Rob: | And I'm Rob Carter. |
| Wang Fei: | Rob, I'm going on a hot date tomorrow and I'm feeling a bit nervous now. I think I need your help. |
| Rob: | Hmm. It is a scary thing to do. What you need is some kind of icebreaker. |
| Wang Fei: | An icebreaker? That sounds quite cold! |
| Rob: | Don't worry, it's not. But an icebreaker has got something to do with warming up a cold situation. It will make things more relaxed. |
| Wang Fei: | An icebreaker is something you can do or some words you can say to make people feel relaxed. So an icebreaker will make things less formal? |
| Rob: | Yes, that's right. Doing something or saying something at the start will hopefully make your date more relaxed and less tense. |
| Wang Fei: | I see. An icebreaker will make people feel more relaxed. Maybe I should sing a song or do a dance?! |
| Rob: | Now that's a bit over the top—why not start with a joke? |
| Wang Fei: | If singing or dancing is a bit over the top, or too much, I will think of a joke then. |
| Wang Fei: | So just now we heard people using icebreaker in their conversation. Rob, does icebreaker literally mean breaking the ice? |
| Rob: | It does. You can do it when you start a new job. Everything feels so formal that it's good to break the ice. We British can be a bit reserved or formal so it's good if someone can break the ice. |
| Wang Fei: | Yes, I agree. Sometimes British people can be quite reserved and formal. Rob I'm not good at jokes. Do you have any I can use? |
| Rob: | Let's have a think. How about telling this one? "With my last girlfriend it was love at first sight—then I took a second look!" |
| Wang Fei: | It's a good joke. But honestly, did it work for you? |
| Rob: | Um ... It didn't actually. But it might be good for you! |
| Wang Fei: | Hmm ... Actually I think I would rather find a good story on our website as an icebreaker. |
| Rob: | Yes. Don't forget our website is a good place to learn some English phrases that might help you break the ice at a party. |
| Wang Fei: | And our website is ... |
| Rob: | www.bbclearningenglish.com. Bye bye. |
| Wang Fei: | Bye! |
