English for Networking
One-to-one lessons in the English you need to start, hold and follow up on professional conversations in the UK. Built around the real events, introductions and small-talk moments you are actually walking into, with experienced British teachers. Online across the UK, face-to-face in London.
Tell us about the event or conversations you are preparing for, and we will match you with the right teacher.
Who English for Networking lessons are for
English for Networking at PS English is for non-native English speakers who attend professional events, conferences or industry gatherings in the UK, and want to come away from them with real conversations and real follow-ups rather than a polite escape after thirty seconds. Most of our students are professionals who can hold a one-to-one work conversation in English without difficulty, but find that networking is a different game: faster, looser, more dependent on small talk and cultural reading, and rarely covered in the English they learned at school or at work.
English for Networking lessons work especially well for:
People dreading an upcoming event, conference, industry meet-up, drinks reception or after-work gathering they cannot avoid
People who can introduce themselves but stall after that, where the conversation dies once the opening exchange is done
People who find UK small talk uncomfortable and would like to understand how it actually works rather than guess at it
People who walk away with no follow-ups, because they did not catch a name, did not exchange details, or were not sure what to send the next day
People building a UK professional network from scratch, often as new arrivals in a UK role or sector
What you work on in English for Networking lessons
Every English for Networking lesson at PS English is built around the events and conversations you are actually preparing for, or the ones you have recently come away from feeling you could have done better. We do not work through a fixed syllabus. In your first lesson, your teacher works out where in a networking conversation you tend to lose ground, then plans the lessons that follow around those moments. Most students focus on some combination of the areas below.
The British conventions of how to approach someone you do not know at a professional event, what to say in the first ten seconds, and how to do it without sounding either too formal or too rehearsed. "Hi, mind if I join you?" done in a way that lands naturally.
The cultural mechanics of UK small talk: the openings ("How did you find the morning?"), the safe topics, the topics to avoid, and the small bridges that take a conversation from weather to work without it feeling forced.
A clear, confident answer to "So, what do you do?" that is genuinely interesting, sounds like a real person rather than a job description, and gives the other person something to respond to. Most non-native speakers have one stiff version of this answer; we work on several, for different audiences.
The follow-up questions, the active-listening moves, and the small interjections ("Oh interesting, how did you end up there?") that turn a polite exchange into a real conversation worth following up on.
The phrases that let you move on at a networking event without offence, and the moves that signal "this was good, let’s stay in touch" rather than "I am trying to escape".
The English of the LinkedIn message you send the next morning, the short follow-up email, and the second contact a few weeks later when you have a real reason to be in touch.
Professional EnglishVirtual networking events, breakout rooms, LinkedIn conversations and the etiquette of the after-event message. The medium changes the language; we cover the differences.
How our English for Networking lessons are different
Real events, not role-plays
Most online networking content is based on invented scenarios with a script. Our lessons are built around the events you are actually attending, the conversations you have recently had, and the follow-ups you are sitting on right now. The names are real, the context is real, and the phrases you practise are the ones you will use within a few days.
British networking, by British teachers
Networking conventions are cultural, and British conventions are not the same as American, German, Japanese or Indian ones. Our teachers are native British English speakers with years of experience teaching adult professionals in the UK. You learn how networking actually works in a British professional context, from someone who has done a great deal of it.
The unwritten rules, made explicit
Most networking advice for non-native English speakers focuses on the language. The harder part is the unwritten rules: when to interrupt, when to hold back, when small talk is mandatory and when it is fine to skip, what counts as an acceptable opener and what feels off. We make these rules explicit in lessons, so you can stop guessing at them.
Online and face-to-face, flexible to your schedule
Lessons fit around your working day and your event calendar, not the other way around. Take them online from anywhere in the UK, in person in central London, or mix the two. Book a focused lesson the week before a conference if you need to; networking is the kind of skill that benefits from short, targeted preparation as well as longer-term work.
I used to spend most of any conference standing near the coffee, hoping someone would come and talk to me. After a few months of lessons I can walk up to people, start a conversation, and actually enjoy it. The biggest change is that I now know what I am supposed to do, instead of guessing.
How it works
Book a free consultation
Tell us about the events you attend, the conversations you find hardest, and what a good outcome would look like for you. We will match you with a teacher at a time that suits you, including outside standard working hours where needed.
Meet your teacher
Your first lesson is a real lesson, at a discounted price of £20 for 60 minutes online. You and your teacher discuss the networking situations you are in, often working through a recent event or a specific upcoming one, and agree what you want to focus on. No commitment, no pressure.
Start your lessons
When you are ready, book a block of lessons online or face-to-face in London. Your teacher tailors each lesson to the events you have coming up, often preparing you for a specific conference or gathering the same week. Most students book lessons in blocks of ten or twenty and adjust as their needs change.
Related lessons
One-to-one lessons in the English you need to follow, contribute to, and chair meetings with confidence.
Find out moreBuild and deliver a confident presentation in English from the opening line to handling questions at the end.
Find out moreThe English of professional written communication: emails, LinkedIn messages, follow-ups and the everyday writing that turns a conversation into a contact.
Find out moreThe rhythm, phrasing and small habits that make English sound natural rather than translated. The foundation skill that makes everything else in this list easier.
Find out moreFrequently asked questions
What are good networking skills?
Good networking skills sort into three areas: starting conversations, sustaining them, and following up. Starting is about being able to approach someone you do not know, offer a clear opener, and not feel you need a clever line. Sustaining is about asking good follow-up questions, listening properly, and showing genuine interest in the answer rather than waiting for your turn to talk. Following up is about leaving the event with the name and a way to contact the person, and sending something useful within a day or two. Beyond those three, the most underrated skill is comfort with short conversations: a great deal of networking is two or three minutes long, and the goal is a real connection in that short window, not a long discussion. In English for Networking lessons we work on all three areas in the context of events you are actually attending.
What is the golden rule of networking?
The most commonly cited golden rule of networking is "give before you ask", or some version of it: focus first on being useful to the people you meet, and the relationships, opportunities and introductions tend to follow on their own. It is good advice as far as it goes. For non-native English speakers in the UK, we would add a second rule that often matters more in practice: be present in the conversation you are in. Networking anxiety pushes people to rush, scan the room, or rehearse the next sentence while half-listening to the current one. The single biggest improvement most students make in our lessons is slowing down, listening properly, and trusting that the next moment will take care of itself.
What is networking in the UK?
Networking in the UK has a few characteristics that often surprise students from other professional cultures. It is generally less direct than in the United States: a hard sales pitch in the first conversation lands badly, and the cultural preference is for understatement and gentle interest rather than an immediate ask. It tends to start with small talk, often genuinely about the weather, the journey, or the venue, before moving on to professional content; skipping this stage feels abrupt. It places a high value on self-deprecating humour, which can be disorienting if you are used to a more straightforwardly confident self-presentation. Follow-up tends to be lower-key than in some other cultures, with a polite LinkedIn message or a short email being the expected form. And it relies heavily on second and third contacts: a single networking conversation rarely produces a result, but a sequence of small, low-pressure interactions often does.
What are networking red flags to avoid?
The most common red flags for non-native English speakers in UK professional contexts are: opening with a pitch rather than a question, talking through someone else’s contribution rather than letting them finish, asking for an introduction or a favour in the first conversation, dominating the conversation without making space for the other person, and following up with a long, formal email when a short, light LinkedIn message would have been right. Almost none of these are about English itself; they are about cultural expectation. Lessons cover the language but also flag the conventions, so you avoid the small misses that often go unmentioned but do real damage to a new professional relationship.
How do I make small talk in English?
British small talk is more structured than it looks. It usually opens with a low-stakes shared observation (the weather, the venue, the talk you just heard, the journey in), then progresses through a few short exchanges before either landing on professional content or politely ending. The skill is being comfortable with the low-stakes opening, rather than treating it as a stage to be rushed past. A short bank of natural openers ("How did you find the morning?", "Have you come far?", "What brings you here?") and a few sustaining moves ("Oh interesting, what was that like?", "I had not heard that before, tell me more") will carry you through most events. We work on this directly in lessons, including the rhythm and intonation that make small talk sound natural rather than translated.
What level do I need to be to take English for Networking lessons?
We work with students from intermediate (CEFR B1) upwards. If you can hold a one-to-one work conversation in English and understand most of what is said back, you are the right level for us. Networking adds a layer of cultural reading and quick-response speaking on top of that, which is what the lessons build. Below intermediate, networking events will be too fast and too unpredictable to be the right starting point, and we will say so honestly at the assessment lesson.
Are lessons online or face-to-face?
Both are available. Most students choose online, which makes scheduling around work and events easier. Face-to-face lessons are available in central London for students who prefer them, and many students mix the two. Online lessons use Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams, whichever you already use at work. You can read more on our Online English Coach and Face-to-Face Lessons in London pages.
Ready to start?
Tell us about the events you are preparing for, and we will match you with a teacher who can help. Your consultation is free, with no commitment either way.