When You're Unexpectedly Put on the Spot 🎤

Have you ever been sitting quietly in a meeting or at a drinking party (飲み会), when suddenly the host or your boss looks at you and says, "Next, let's hear from Mr./Ms. A!"?

That feeling of 'Oh my god, why me?' is perfectly captured by a priceless Japanese phrase: 話を振られる (hanashi o furareru).

Breaking Down the Phrase ✨

• 話 (hanashi): story, topic
• 振る (furu): has many meanings like 'to wave,' 'to shake,' or even 'to dump' (a partner). In this context, it means 'to pass,' 'to assign,' or 'to bring up' a topic to someone.

So, 話を振る (active form) is the act of 'passing the mic,' assigning a topic to someone else. And 話を振られる (passive form) is the experience of being 'called out' to talk about something, usually unexpectedly.

How to Use It in Real Life? 🤔

This phrase is extremely common in the workplace and at social gatherings.

🧑‍💼 Scenario 1: In a meeting 「会議で急に部長から話を振られて、焦ったよ。」 (Kaigi de kyuu ni buchou kara hanashi o furarete, asetta yo.) → I panicked when the manager suddenly passed the topic to me in the meeting. 😅

🍻 Scenario 2: Encouraging someone to speak (active form) 「無口な田中さんに話を振ってあげようよ。」 (Mukuchi na Tanaka-san ni hanashi o futte ageyou yo.) → Hey, let's bring the quiet Mr. Tanaka into the conversation. (by passing him a topic)

🎤 Scenario 3: Being singled out by a host 「突然、司会者に『最近どうですか？』と話を振られた。」 (Totsuzen, shikaisha ni 'saikin dou desu ka?' to hanashi o furareta.) → The host suddenly put me on the spot by asking, 'So, how have you been lately?'.

A Pro-Tip for You 💡

In Japan, 話を振る (passing the mic) can sometimes be a sign of consideration, a way to include quieter people in the group conversation. Therefore, having a few small, safe stories (当たり障りのない話) ready to go when you get 話を振られる is an incredibly useful social skill!