Go mingle

First of all, although the basic idea for this activity comes from "Business Result" Upper-Intermediate (Oxford), you don´t need a business group to do it.  The focus is on mingling: introducing yourself, making contact, explaining who you are and what you do and trying to make a connection (business or otherwise).  It´s a fantastic skill to work on and this activity is a fantastic opportunity to do so.  

The objective
The basic idea is for students to take on the role of a small company and present their business to the rest and then decide with whom it would be useful to do business with.  The original activity contained just four role-cards but I found that a bit limiting to the potential of the activity which was to exploit the idea of finding your ideal business partner by moving about the room, making contact with others (via small talk) and eventually locating the business which is a "perfect fit" to yours (without having it written on your card).

The language
Present simple:  I work for...
Present continuous:  We´re looking for...; We are expanding our business.

The set-up
Print out the role-cards (provided below) and cut them up.  Make sure you know which goes with which and why (I´ll let you figure that one out yourself).  Feel free to make any changes (make the connections easier to see or "dumb down" the language).

The low-down
Ask students if they know what a business networking conference is.  (optional: bring a small text which describes one)  Explain to the class what it means, why and how it works.  Then tell them that they are going to attend one in X hotel for a lunch conference in X (city).  Each student (or pair) will have a role-card.  The objective is to move around the room introducing themselves and making conversation to decide if they could do business together.  If not, they should speak with someone else.  Very important: Demonstrate this with a couple of students.  Hand out the cards (mixed up) and ask students to stand up and move to the center of the room.  Monitor and help them with any hiccups in conversation.  Also, referee to make sure they found the intended partner.

Now what?
When students have found their intended business partner, they should sit down and discuss details of their future relationship.  Ask them to make a basic plan of what their relationship will be and how they will conduct it.  When they finish, ask some pairs to present to the class.

More talk-time
Do you think networking conferences are a good way to meet new clients?
What other ways can a company meet new clients?
What´s (would be) the most difficult thing about gaining a new client, in your opinion?
What´s more difficult, in your opinion, getting new clients or maintaining present ones?
What makes a good salesperson?

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