1. Write 3 questions on the board (What's your name? / Where are you from? / Is this your first time here?) 2. Have your students form 2 lines facing each other (if 3 or fewer students, use PT's / SO's as additional "students"). 3. Instruct students to ask the person opposite them the questions in 1 minute intervals. 4. Confirm instructions with ICQs (What are the questions to be asked? / How long do you have? / Who are you asking? / When do we finish?). 5. After 2 minutes say “switch”. 6. Continue until all students have cycled through once with all other students. 7. Elicit from the class whether anyone has experience of attending an event where almost all the other attendees were strangers (a large conference; a welcome party; an external training course; a formal party). 8. Elicit from the class how easy/difficult it was for them to start conversations with strangers. 9. Elicit how it might be easier or more difficult to do this in English.

1. Divide the class into pairs or small groups. 2. Elicit the meaning of the phrase "breaking the ice", literal (breaking through a layer of ice on water to allow boats to sail across it) and metaphorical (breaking the initial barrier between strangers, in order to allow a natural conversation to start). 3. Hand out quiz. 4. Instruct students the quiz is to generate discussion rather that find the "correct" answers. They should discuss each other's answers as they work through the quiz. Give students 5-6 minutes to complete quiz. 5. Confirm instructions with ICQ's (What is the goal of the quiz? / how long do you have to complete the quiz?). 6. Elicit discussion of students' answers.

1. Divide class into pairs or small groups (3-4). 2. Hand out worksheets. 3. Instruct students to work in their groups to match the beginnings with the endings to make phrases for starting conversations. Give students 5-6 minutes to complete worksheet. 4. Confirm instructions with ICQ's (What is the goal of the worksheet? / How are you going to finish the worksheet? / How long do you have to complete the worksheet?). 5. Elicit discussion of students' answers by asking each group a few results from the worksheet. 6. As a follow-up, students can test each other in pairs by folding their worksheets along the vertical center line and reading the beginning of a phrase in order to elicit the ending of the phrase from their partner. 7. Answers: 1-D, 2-K, 3-L, 4-J, 5-F, 6-B, 7-I, 8-O, 9-E, 10-N, 11-A, 12-M, 13-H, 14-C, 15-G

1. Divide class into pairs or small groups (3-4). 2. Elicit from the class some strategies for leaving a conversation (i.e., is it better to lie about your reason for leaving? Is it acceptable to simply walk away?). 3. Hand out worksheets. 4. Instruct students to work in their groups to fill in the blanks with the vocabulary words into the leaving the conversation phrases. Give students 5-6 minutes to complete worksheet. 5. Confirm instructions with ICQ's (What is the goal of the worksheet? / How are you going to finish the worksheet? / How long do you have to complete the worksheet?). 6. Elicit discussion of students' answers by asking each group results from the worksheet. Elicit alternative phrases. 7. Answers: 1. spotted / urgently / nice / card / email / touch / proper / later 2. sorry / urgent / outside / Hopefully 3. excuse / need / couple / have / on / mine / free / pleasure / rest

1. Cut "business card" slips and give each student 10 business cards. 2. Have students write their name, job title (real/fake), company name (real/fake), and contact information (real/fake) on each business card. 3. Set up role-play as a business conference on Sales Strategies - 10-12 minute time limit. They should start conversations with the other people in the class, exchange business cards at an appropriate time, and leave the conversation politely in order to continue meeting people. The aim is to talk to 6 different people and to collect exactly 6 different business cards from the people they have spoken to. If they collect too many business cards, it means they are going too fast. If they don't collect enough, it means they are too slow (DO NOT give students the number of business cards that are ideal). They can use information on the business cards to help make conversation. The maximum group size is 3 people. If a 4th person joins, 1 member of the group needs to make an excuse and leave. 4. Confirm instructions with students through ICQ's. 5. Start the mixer! 6. Monitor carefully both for accuracy of language and for the effectiveness of students' ice-breaking skills. 7. At the end of the time limit, stop the role play and ask how many business cards each student has collected. 8. Elicit feedback on their performance. 9. Finish lesson by introducing next topic in the series (Keeping the conversation going...).