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Subjects to avoid in British small talk: Sex


Neil voiceover: I’ve been working at the BBC

for a long time now. I’ve met lots of people.

And I sometimes bump into them… and make

small talk. They call it small talk, but that

doesn’t mean it’s of little importance.

Keith: Neil! Hi, how’s it going?

Neil: Keith! How’s it going?

Keith: Yeah, not too bad, thanks. Long time

no see.

Neil: Yeah it’s been a while, hasn’t it? You’ve

got kids now.

Keith: I do, yes. That’s why I’m looking so

old and awful.

Neil: Tiring, isn’t it?

Keith: It is. It is.

Neil: So… how’s your sex life?

Keith: Err…

Neil: You know… your sex life. Is it going

well?

Keith: I’ve got to errm…

Neil: OK, see you later.

Neil voiceover: Let’s see what our experts

have to say about that.

Kee: He obviously asked about his children,

family. That’s a kind of standard thing to

talk about.

Sam: Yep.

Kee: But then sex…

Sam: Yeah… No!

Kee: No, no

Sam/Kee: It’s not a standard thing to talk

about. Especially not at work.

Kee: Would you ever ask anyone about their

sex life at work?

Sam: No, I don’t think… no, no. I’m trying

to think if I would ask even my closest friends.

Kee: Me too, yeah.

Sam: I don’t think I would.

Kee: I’m starting to feel uncomfortable talking

about it now. Sam: I won’t ask you that question.

Kee: Please don’t!

Sam: So, because he had a good start, I was

a bit surprised that he didn’t just carry

on talking about children or family. That

seemed to be something they had in common.

Kee: Yeah, I think he was asking about, like,

whether it’s difficult… he’s having difficulty

raising kids.

Sam: Yeah

Kee: And I think he talks about having bags

under his eyes. Sam: Yeah

Kee: Lack of sleep

Sam: Yeah, yeah. There’s lots of things you

can go off… from there.

Kee: Absolutely. And if you’ve got your own…

And if you’ve kids of your own, you could

also maybe like give advice, talk about your

own experiences…

Sam: Or talk about your own kids. He didn’t.

Neil voiceover: Thanks for the tips, guys.

I’ll try harder next time.

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