By LUCY
In every country you visit, there are things you should and shouldn't talk about. Here are some guidelines for making conversation in China and in America.
Chinese can be enthusiastic convwersationalists, and they often ask quite personal questions regarding your marital status, income, and religion with body language in order to establish a relationship. Make sure you don't express annoyance with the questioner-it should be possible to avoid answering the question if you don't want to. In contrast, try not to be too direct when communicating with Chinese yourself, as they are more receptive to an indirect approach. It's recommended that you keep eye contact during a conversation, since too much eye contact may be seen as rudeness rather than a sige of attention. Subjievts that are welcome are Chinese culture and customs, family, food, job, movies, and sports, especially basketball and football. Subjects to avoid include politics and religion.
Generally, Americans like to laugh, and they enjoy being with people who have a sense of humor. They usually maintain regular eye contact and smile a lot. People often compliment each other, for example about their clothing or achievements, especially as a way to start a conversation-even with a stranger. Americans also often ask,"What do you do?" to begin a conversation, and it's very acceptable to ask about work-related matter. Sports are very popular in the US, especially baseball, football, and basketball. Books, food, music, and movies are good topics, but not religion, politics, or other controversial subjects such as racism, unless you know the person you're talking to well. Finally, Americans will expect you to speak English, as many never learn a foreign language.
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