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Lisa：歡迎回到現場。各位都已經看到我們今天特別來賓的小檔案了，現在我們介紹他出場，讓大家認識一下。Say Hi to the audience, Bryan.

Bryan： Hello, nice to meet you.

Lisa： Bryan是一個非常好玩的朋友，因為他來到台灣才一年的時間，可是他做的工作是非常有趣的，因為這是大家非常熟悉的，現在常常在媒體上聽到的這種網路事業，而且他做的是一個什麼行業？就是網路的音樂方面的軟體。所以我們特別請到Bryan到現場來跟我們聊聊，就是他在台灣的期間看到，老中跟外國
人在用英文交談的時候，有一些什麼有趣的現象？Bryan, what's our general impression of Taiwanese talking to foreigners in English? Because you've been here for some time now. 

Bryan： I think people are very interested in speaking English to foreigners. And sometimes people are a little bit shy so they don't want to make mistakes. They concern about saying the right word, so maybe they don't talk too much. But I think that in general, they enjoy it and they like learning English. And they like speaking. 

Lisa： So you can see from their face that they are afraid, that they pick the wrong words, you know…

Bryan： Yes.

Lisa： Use the wrong sentence. OK, 在這一點上面，Bryan倒是非常的觀察仔細喔！因為很多人覺得自己英文非常不好、很破，就不太敢用英文來講。可是當你猶疑的時候，你就會被他們看穿。So what do you do？ And you, you know, met with this kind of situation where they try to communicate, but you sense a little intimidation. What do you do?

Bryan： I think that the most important thing is kind of talking slowly. Making sure that you annunciate your words. Talking about the subject that is comfortable and non-
threatening. Also talking about the subject that's interesting to the other person.

Lisa： Since you mentioned the non-threatening subjects. What are the threatening subjects when you do these small talks with an American?

Bryan： Right. Threatening subject is maybe if more interview style. Subjects that are maybe too personal at the beginning or that someone may not feel confident speaking about. Or words of the language the vocabulary you need to 
use is maybe a little more sophisticated.

Lisa： So do girls come up? You know, talk to you just like that in Taiwan?

Bryan： Well, I think it's common in a lot of places. It depends on where you are. I think if you are socializing with friends at the place to listen to light music or bar something like that, People would be more friendly. But in general, when you are during the day, when you're walking on the street something like that, most the time people don't talk to you.

Lisa： Do they look at you though?

Bryan： Yes. Actually, it's very different. I find it in Taiwan that people feel comfortable making eye contact whereas in Tokyo or in New York City, they look the other way.

Lisa： What about Hong Kong?

Bryan： Hong Kong I think people are… Yes, they do look but at the same time they also very busy going from one place to another. So they don't really have time.

Lisa： You know, we have a joke about people in Hong Kong. You know, wearing the dollar signs in their eyes, so probably that's how they make eye contact.

Bryan： Yes.

Lisa： Anyhow, and all this time you are in Taiwan, your contact, means business people or just common locals?

Bryan： I would… Most of my contacts are business. I have had enough opportunity to meet some locals but I think you have to really make an effort to get out and meet people and get into environment that is much more local.

Lisa： Do you find it easier to talk to these business contacts?

Bryan： Yes, but it's very business-oriented. It's not very often person-oriented. So to make that kind of next level of contact, you have to make a lot more an effort. Or you have to go into a different kind of environment. So, a lot of times, people would want to meet in western type of communities like City American Club or American Chamber of Commerce these kinds of things. If you really want to get to know the local population, you'll have to go into something that's a little bit more local.

Lisa： Right. What would you say to the audience who are obviously learning English and trying to use to their best of their ability, but still they are some fear of talking to 
strangers especially foreigner. You know, what should they do under the first time they met a ... what have you ?

Bryan： I think if someone really wants to learn English, they need to get involved. If it's not professional then in some kind of community activity, some kind of organization 
that's specifically about learning, about politics or social activities, that they may have to do with hiking, and biking, and swimming, and something like this. Working with other foreigners who come here, who want to learn Chinese, and maybe, you can teach them English and Chinese, and they can teach you English.

Lisa： What should they say on the first meeting? I'm so and so…, or you know, what kind of wordings, what kind of phrases they should use?

Bryan： I think phrases that they're comfortable with and I think when you first meet someone, you say, "Hello.", "It's very nice to meet you.", "My name is Bryan." And you know, just talking about… You know ask… People like to talk about themselves. So if you encourage them to do that in a very polite way and just say, "How do you like Taiwan?", "How long have you been here?", "What are you doing here?", "Where are you from?", "Are you here with your family?", "Where did you grow up?", "Where did you go to college?" Same kind of things that you would say to your friends.

Lisa： Right, but never go too personal.

Bryan： Not too personal, but you can usually gauge the person's level of comfort base upon how they response. So if they give you lots of information about themselves then 
you know then it's okay.

Lisa： Right, so it's not that tough.

Bryan： No, it's very easy.

Lisa： It strikes a conversation

Bryan： I think that's true anywhere in the world.

Lisa： OK, and what do you think of the language competency? I mean, you know, the way they use English in Taiwan generally?

Bryan： I think, in general, I think it's very, very good. That's… My Chinese is not very strong. And I've been able to come here, and I've been here for a year, and live very comfortably because the people are very nice. They're very friendly. They're very helpful. And in generally you can more or less understand each other whereas in Japan, it was not true.

Lisa： Really? You've been to Japan recently? 

Bryan： Yes, I did. I actually lived there for 2 years.

Lisa： OK.

Bryan： And it's very difficult to get around in Japan.

Lisa： Then I'll say that you are a big judge, good judge of that. So, 就像Bryan剛講的，其實他不覺得說台灣人的英文有差的那麼厲害，事實上跟這個日本人比起來，可能在很多方面還是比較優越的，大家應該更加地敢講、更加地敢去認識外國朋友。我們先稍待一下，待會回來，我們繼續跟Bryan再聊天。

Bryan： I think the most important thing is try to get as much exposure to companies that have international cultures. Companies that work not just in Asia but have global 
interest. That way you start to learn a lot about the way the world is going. How much more global business community, much more global society. And take the opportunity when your company or company offers you the chance to meet 
somebody, it's exactly. And go out, and go to dinner with them, to go to the seminars, to go to trade shows. Those are some of the best things to do when you are just starting out learn as much as you can.

Lisa： You mean that social skills can be built up through all these experience or exposure to occasions.

Bryan： Yes, life is basically about… It's same as experiences. And the more you have, the more comfortable you feel with other people. The more comfortable you feel with English. The more comfortable you feel, you know, in your professional career.

Lisa： Do you find the trend that, you know, not only the so-called English speaking country use English but you know, it's used all around the world, so you have all kinds of 
formats, versions of English?

Bryan： Yes, you know, I think it's… In some respects, it's good that there's an international language for business. You don't necessary think that it's necessary comfortable for everybody that is English but it's good. Because it's a language that you can pretty much communicate anyone worldwide. If you are in Europe, if you are in Latin America, North America, anywhere in Asia. If you are doing 
business, English is a good language to learn. But in terms of format, I wouldn't say that. You know, in terms of British English, or American English, or Canadian English, whatever have you… I don't think it is necessary a single format that's
most comfortable because there're different kinds of cultural things supporting the variation of English.

Lisa： Right. Have you ever met anybody, you know, for instance, from England saying that, "Wow! You talk with an accent." that he doesn't understand? 

Bryan： Not the American English, I think British English is easy for a lot to understand because there's a very clear annunciation. I think that English that's most difficult for people to understand is Australian English. Even as an American, sometimes I find it challenging to understand some Australian English. 

Lisa： So do you stop them and ask questions? Ask them to slow down or repeat the questions?

Bryan： Slow down. But when you do that, you also learn a lot of new words. And they have their new meanings.

Lisa： Alright, any weird slang you ever met?

Bryan： Nothing in particular. I think it's more kind of street slang, just among-friends kind of slang. Sometimes in the movies, television, they may choose the word also that's become a cultural icon. 

Lisa： Sort of like "Crocodile Dundee" time.

Bryan： Yes. Exactly.

Lisa： What about the other way around? Anybody told you that, "Oh, you'll have to slow Down.","You'll have to tell me what that American English mean?"

Bryan： Yes, it happens a lot. I think it's the same thing. If you forget when you get very comfortable and excited talking to someone, you know, for me, for talking to someone in English who's a native Taiwanese speaker, Chinese speaker 
sometimes I forget that I need to talk slowly and quietly so that they understand.

Lisa： So as a young person yourself, you travel lot, do you find the youngsters of the major cosmopolitan cities to be really living the same style, you know, living the same 
way, you know, in a sense?

Bryan： I think in the metropolitan cities, yes. And I think because media is now so prevalent in the world, they're exposed to so many different kinds of things. Fashion trends, trends in music, trends in film and television and all about the pop cultural things. So that wherever you travel in the world now, you may see a teenager wearing the same kind of clothing that you see in New York City, or in Paris, or in London. And it's very strange because it's so different from the local culture.

Lisa： Do you find that to be a good thing or bad thing?

Bryan： I think it's… I think people are experimenting with different kinds of interesting Things. And I think that that's great. I think they find themselves, and they…The best thing about it is it mix things from different part around the world with the local culture, and so they improvise. And then becomes their own style, and then they take it, and turn it into something completely different.. 

Lisa： And you are in the music business…

Bryan： Yes.

Lisa： Do you find the taste for music? Sort of similar among these cities?

Bryan： Well, in Asia, yes. But I think that one of the exciting things about music now in Asia is that it is becoming much more local. But not only are they taking western influences to create new music but they also taking influences from different parts in Asia. So you've seen a lot of new music and in Asia, you've seen a lot of very talented artists come up with very original sounds, very original lyrics.

Lisa： That's fine. Good to know. 這個Bryan跟我們聊了很多，在那個題材上面，我們有談到音樂的，我們談到這個全世界各大城市這些年輕人的穿著打扮，和
他們的生活的方式。那麼當然也談到各種的所謂「英語」，即使是英語系的國家，不管是美語英語，或者是澳洲口音的這些語言，其實，他們自己互相之間
都常常需要，就是要問清楚，搞清楚，更何況是我們並不是這個以美語系或說英文系為主的國家。所以大家一定不要害怕，那麼有任何的問題就儘管問就是了。好，我們休息片刻，待會回來，我們繼續跟Bryan聊天。

Bryan： Yes, one of the things I think, then this is maybe somewhat personal viewpoint on  gender. I believe that you should… It's not matter of my gender. It's about  you as an individual. So when you introduce yourself, introduce yourself to  how you like to be proceeded by another person. And really you should just be yourself. And people will respect you for who you are. So feel confident saying what you think is appropriate whether it's a social setting, whether it's a professional setting. And I don't think it matters if you're a man or a woman. People want to learn about it. They wanna understand it. They wanna find out your experiences. How smart you are? These kinds of things.

Lisa： So, it's okay to give you a hand, you know, for the handshake either you are woman or man, has the same ...
Bryan： Absolutely, absolutely.

Lisa： OK, and what about, you know, surprised introductions? I mean, have you ever heard anything that, you know, some people say that to surprise people, to make 
people, you know, the first impression. So do you support that kind of theory?

Bryan： I think surprise introductions are difficult because they… You don't always understand what the intention is so you are not quite sure how they act. So it is an introduction because maybe for a job interview. So the introduction maybe somebody wants to introduce you for a date.

Lisa： Right.

Bryan： Or something like this. So, and the best thing is maybe to, you know, to be polite to say hello. And, and to maybe let the other people do a little bit more of the talking so you can understand why, you know, this surprise introduction happened.

Lisa： In other word, to listen very carefully.

Bryan： Yes.

Lisa： OK. Bryan剛才對於就是說是不是男女性別，和這個第一次認識，你要怎麼介紹自己，有沒有什麼差別。他倒是認為說，倒不是性別的差異，而是所謂的
個別差異，也就是說，你做自己喔。那麼永遠是把你的這種真誠，然後非常客氣的態度拿出來。另外呢，剛才有另外一個問題就在問說，是不是有的人故意安排一些就是自我介紹的一些奇招步數喔，那他說，其實有時候你做的好像很 不自然的話，反而會讓人家有一個戒心，到底是有什麼目的呢？還不如比較自然的喔，就是把自己給介紹出來。當然我們也談到一個非常好的一點，就是儘量地傾聽別人講話。By the way, do you think that, you know, the local Taiwanese people listen well, you know, to people's talk? You know, they tend to be impatient in the conversation?

Bryan： I think that people here actually do listen mostly. And people everywhere listen if they care about what you're saying. They really have a true interest in learning about you or helping you. So I would say that's very indicative of the culture here and the people are very helpful.

Lisa： OK, and what about… Let me ask you something more directly. And how do you handle harassment? Anything that makes you feel uncomfortable. I mean, be it English or Chinese, even Chinese conversation. You know, if you feel 
uncomfortable, how do you handle it? Well, in your case, how do you handle it in English?

Bryan： In English, it depends on the situation. If the situation was someone is confronting You, and that you can get out of that situation very comfortably, you know, you 
excuse yourself. Say, "I'm sorry.", "I'm not interested in talking to you." or "I don't have the problem with you.", "Pardon me. I'm going to go." That's the best way I handle the situation like that.

Lisa： Just say, take yourself out of the picture.

Bryan： Yes, the best thing to do is avoid confrontation if you can.

Lisa： Any confrontation overseas you ever had in Taiwan?

Bryan： No.

Lisa： What about in Tokyo or anywhere in Asia?

Bryan： Periodically with cab drivers who… If you're going to some places, you give them explicit directions on where you are going. And maybe it's supposed to take five 
minutes but it takes thirty minutes or and an hour. So I had confrontations like this.

Lisa： How did you, you know, do with it?

Bryan： Sometimes, if I know that they're running the wrong way, I'll tell them. And if they get upset with me, I'll tell them to stop the cab, and get out and take another taxi.

Lisa： OK, but you never met anything that's very physical so far in this part of the world?

Bryan： No, I've been… Actually it's… I spent some of living in Cebu City in the Philippines and it was very soon after President Marcos had left. And there's a case where I go into a shopping mall with my friends, and I came out. And there was a solider sitting in our car, and we have sit there and wait for them to leave even though it's our car.

Lisa： OK, you will still take the mild way out.

Bryan： Yes.

Lisa： And what's your suggestions for people who are travelling to your part of the world? For instance, in Boston or other cities where we heard probably in other cities where 
we heard about a lot of violence. So, you know, what have you in the news? Then what should they do to protect themselves?

Bryan： I think that's, you know.. First of all, I think that the level of violence, and in say, for example, the United States, is not as severe as a lot of people think. I lived in 
the United States most of my life, and never have a single problem. You know, I have any other friends that I know. The best thing to do is when you do that with a city is to make sure you learn about as much as you can. Know your itinerary. Take your hotel number and numbers of the friends with you. If you very concerned, always carry copy of the phone number for the local Ambassy. And that way, if you need some assistant, you can communicate with people. But, for the most part, you should be fine. Staying in the areas that, you know, that covered in a travel guide and cover where, you know, where your friends suggest you to do.

Lisa： Of course, if you travel, if you, you know, accompanied by friends or even be better, right? 

Bryan： Yes, always. It's more fun, too.

Lisa：今天呢特別請到Bryan跟大家談一下，就是現在就是在這個所謂英文使用的世 界的一些大概的情況。那麼Bryan是一個很特別的一個來賓，為什麼？因為他 是屬於我們，像我們觀眾一樣，就是年輕的族群，那麼他也是很難得的已經是有很多的國際經驗。那麼從他自己的講話裡面，你也可以看得出來，他不但鼓勵大家儘量使用英文，而且使用英文做為工具，那擴展所謂的國際視野。不管 是這個旅遊為目的、或交友為目的、留學為目的，或者就是只是想要認識這整 個世界，那麼我想這都是一些很好的建議。我們今天的節目因為時間的關係，只能到這裡為止，我們再找機會跟Bryan聊，下次再見，Bye! 

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