Work in small groups. Discuss these questions.

УЧЕБНЫЕ ЗАДАНИЯ ДЛЯ РАЗВИТИЯ НАВЫКОВ УСТНОЙ РЕЧИ В СФЕРЕ ДЕЛОВОГО ОБЩЕНИЯ

 

Сост. Скурыдина В.Б.

Contents

 

Предисловие.............................................................................................................................. 4

 

Unit 1. TELEPHONING........................................................................................................... 5

 

1.1. Telephone English – Basics.................................................................................... 5

 

1.2. Questioning Techniques......................................................................................... 12

 

1.3. Exchanging Information........................................................................................... 18

 

1.4. Telephone Etiquette.................................................................................................. 22

 

Revision.................................................................................................................................... 31

 

Unit 2. PRESENTING............................................................................................................ 34

 

2.1. Starting Presentations.............................................................................................. 34

 

2.2. Involving the Audience............................................................................................. 40

 

Revision.................................................................................................................................... 52

 

Unit 3. MEETINGS.................................................................................................................. 54

 

3.1. The Language of Meetings.................................................................................... 54

 

3.2. Discussions: Opinions & Suggestions............................................................. 64

 

3.3. The Structure of Meetings...................................................................................... 73

 

Revision.................................................................................................................................... 88

 

ATTACHMENT......................................................................................................................... 90

 

Литература................................................................................................................................ 96

 

Предисловие

 

 

Данные учебные задания предназначены для студентов всех специальностей. Целью учебных заданий является подготовка студентов к практическому использованию устного английского языка в профессиональном и частном

межкультурном общении, расширение их знаний о нормах общения в международных деловых отношениях, совершенствование культуры речи,

формирование у студентов основ коммуникативной компетенции,

предполагающей развитие таких навыков как публичная речь (презентация),

диалогическое и полилогическое устное общение в ситуациях, характерных для международной бизнес-коммуникации.

Учебные задания направлены на освоение студентами следующего ряда аспектов:

основных лексико-грамматических структур, используемых в устном деловом общении; основных норм социального поведения и речевого этикета,характерных для международных деловых отношений.

Задания могут быть выполнены как в аудитории, так и для самостоятельной работы.

Учебные задания включают следующие разделы:

Деловое общение по телефону.

Презентация как форма публичной речи.

Совещания – структура и нормы общения.

 

Unit 1. TELEPHONING

 

 

Telephone English – Basics

 

 

Work in small groups. Discuss these questions.

 

1) Do you use the phone a lot? If yes, which three people do you phone or text the most?

 

2) Do you ever need to speak English on the phone? If yes, who to?

 

Read the text and say what two main recommendations it contains.

 

Basic Telephone Skills

 

Having telephone conversations in a second language can be very stressful. If you don’t know what to say, it is very common to feel nervous in any conversation. This is true even when speaking in your native tongue. One of the main reasons people get nervous is because they aren’t prepared and know they might make mistakes during the conversation.

 

To improve confidence on the phone you must learn what to say. The first thing you should do to improve your telephone communication ability is to start out small by learning vocabulary and phrases. There are a number of phrases and idioms that are only used when telephoning.

 

Another thing to think about when talking on the telephone is formality. It's important to use the right level of formality – if you are too formal, people might find it difficult to feel comfortable when they talk to you. On the other hand, if you are too informal, people might think you are rude!

 

Generally speaking, if you are talking to someone in a business context, you should use could, can, may or would when you make a reques t: 'Could I speak to Jason Roberts, please?' 'Can I take a message?' 'Would next Wednesday be okay?' You should also use please and thank you or thanks very much whenever you ask for, or receive, help or information.

 

It's important to show politeness by using words like would, could, please, thank you etc. But it's also okay to use some of the features of informal/spoken English -short forms, phrasal verbs and words like okay and bye – in other words – everyday English! So phrases like ‘I'm off to a conference...’, ‘no problem, bye!’ and ‘hang on a moment and I'll put you through’ are perfectly acceptable, as long as the overalltone of the conversation is polite.

And, last but not least, – it's better to ask for help or clarification when you're having a telephone conversation, than to pretend you understand something that you didn't. It's perfectly acceptable to use phrases like 'Could you repeat that, please?' 'Could you speak a little more slowly, please?' and 'Would you mind spelling that for me please? ' Using phrases like these will help make sure that you have a successfulphone call, and may save you from lots of problems later on. You could always say that ‘the line's very bad today’ if you can't hear very well. And it's also a good idea to practise words, phrases and vocabulary before you make the call!

 

Introducing yourself

Asking for

Someone

 

Connecting

Someone

 

Taking a Message

 

 

Finishing a conversation

 

Wordwork

 

a) Fill in the gaps with these words.

 

a) called b) meeting c) off d) line e) leave f) message |

1) I'm afraid he's taken the afternoon …………

 

2) Can I take a …………….?

 

3) Shall I tell him you ……………..?

 

4) Hold the ………….., please. I'll put you through.

 

5) I'm sorry, he's in a ……………...

 

6) Would you like to ………….. a message?

 

b) Match sentences 1-6 in a) to headings i-iii.

 

i. asking someone to wait

 

ii. saying someone isn't available

 

iii. offering to take a message

 

Questioning Techniques

 

 

Some Types of Questions

 

A telephone call is a purposeful activity. Your caller will have some objective in mind and you will need to elicit this objective as quickly and as clearly as possible. In a simple information-seeking call, all you need to do is ask for the caller's name, address, telephone and fax numbers. However, in more complex situations, you need to develop your questioning techniques so that you obtain the salient facts. Here are some of them:

 

Indirect questions

 

We can be more polite or tentative by beginning a question with a phrase like Do you

 

know, Do you think/feel, Do you mind telling me, Could you tell me, Could I ask you, I'd like to know, I was wondering.

Do you feel this rise in interest is a result of increased recruiting? Could you tell me a bit more about what the school is doing on that front?

The word order of an indirect question is like a normal statement.
direct: C	call me a taxi?	indirect: Do you think	call me a taxi?
direct: How old		?	indirect: Could I ask you how old	?
Where there is no question word or modal verb we use ‘if’ or ‘whether’.
direct: DJane still	here?	indirect: Do you know	Jane still	here?

 

Negative questions

 

We use negative questions when we expect the answer to be 'no'. In social English

 

this makes it easier for the other person to reply politely.

 

A: D Japanese food?

 

B: No, not really, (the answer seems very strong)

 

A: D' Japanese food?

 

B: No, not really, (the answer seems more polite)

We use negative questions to show surprise.

 

D accept American Express?

 

Question tags: use

 

Here are five possible uses of question tags presented in a dialogue:

 

A: Y	the sales figures yet,	? (request for information)
B: T	have to be ready till Friday,	?	(confirmation)
A: Y'	going to leave it until the last minute again,	? (attack)
B: Well, I	had any time,	?		(defence)
A: So	you going home early yesterday,	?	(sarcasm)

 

If we use a negative statement with an affirmative tag, we often expect the

 

answer to be ‘no’.

 

A: I'm going to need an interpreter.

 

B: Of course. You speak French,?

 

This form can be more polite because it is easier for the other person to reply in the

 

negative.

 

A: You speak French,?

 

B: No, sorry, I don't.

 

A negative statement with an affirmative tag can also be used to ask people for

 

things in a polite way.
You	give me a hand,	?
You	got any change for the parking meter,	?

 

Work in pairs. Role-play a phone conversation between A and B. A is phoning a club. B is a receptionist at the club. Use the patterns and the useful language tips from the lesson, the information from the internet sites in the list below and your own ideas.

 

1)	http://www.ifitnes.ru	11)	http://www.konkvest.ru
2)	http://www.palestrasport.ru	12)	http://www.pirogovo-club.ru/
3)	http://worldclass.ru	13)	http://www.pestovogolf.ru
4)	http://www.fitnessliga.ru	14)	http://www.topspinclub.com
5)	http://scubaclass.ru	15)	http://www.club-pro.ru
6)	http://www.delphin.su	16)	http://www.clubtennis.ru
7)	http://www.kimberlyland.ru	17)	http://dune-chessclub.narod.ru
8)	http://www.chayka-sport.ru	18)	http://etud-otradnoe.ru
9)	http://www.rusminigolf.ru	19)	http://www.latino-club.ru
10) http://www.mcgc.ru	20)	http://www.club-perspektiva.ru

 

Exchanging Information

 

 

Names, Dates and Numbers

 

Have you ever talked on the phone with someone who was trying to phonetically

 

convey to you a confirmation code or a name and they were having trouble coming

 

up with words to correspond with each letter? “Um…d, as in ‘dog’…um…b, as in

 

‘boy’…um…n, as in ‘nancy’…” It’s quite frustrating – at both ends – and entirely

 

unnecessary. There is a much more elegant and standard solution, the International

 

Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet.

 

When reading off serial numbers, or spelling anything technical out over the phone,

 

one should use the most widely used radiotelephony phonetic alphabet. The official name

 

is the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) spelling alphabet. It assigns

 

code words to the letters of the English alphabet acrophonically (Alfa for A, Bravo for B,

 

etc.) so that critical combinations of letters (and numbers) can be pronounced and

 

understood by those who transmit and receive voice messages by radio or telephone

 

regardless of their native language, especially when the safety of navigation or persons is

 

essential. The paramount reason is to ensure intelligibility of voice signals over radio

 

links.
A - Alfa	F - Foxtrot	K - Kilo	P - Papa	U - Uniform
B - Bravo	G - Golf	L - Lima	Q - Quebec	V - Victor
C - Charlie	H - Hotel	M - Mike	R - Romeo	W - Whiskey
D - Delta	I - India	N - November	S - Sierra	X - X-ray
E - Echo	J - Juliette	O – Oscar	T - Tango	Y - Yankee
				Z - Zulu

When involved in business activities you will hear a lot of dates. See the way the

 

dates below are to be spoken and practice saying them.

 

1 March 1998 ‘the first of March nineteen ninety-eight’

 

17 November 2000 ‘the seventeenth of November two thousand’

 

2 June 2005 ‘the second of June twenty oh five’

 

In America, and sometimes in Britain, dates are written with the month first: November 17 2000; June 2005. Be careful! Dates are sometimes written in number form only: 3.7.08. In Britain this would mean ‘the third of July twenty oh eight’; in America, and on many computers, it would mean ‘the seventh of March twenty oh

 

eight’.

 

Phone numbers are pronounced in groups. The digits are said separately. Your voice should go up for each group, except for the last one, when your voice goes down to signal that it is the end of the number. '0' is usually spoken as oh in BrE, but as zero in AmE. '11', '22', etc. is usually spoken as double one, double two in BrE, but

 

one one, two two in AmE.

 

International dialing	Country code	Area code	Local number
code
			403 5571
double oh	two seven one	two	four oh three, double five seven one

 

 

Providing a phone number

Providing a name

 

Checking information

Exchanging information role-play. Student A – choose an address from the list in the Attachment and dictate it to your partner. Spell each word when you dictate. If spelling is not clear enough make use of the ICAO spelling alphabet. Student B – check that you have got the information correctly, then you dictate the information from your list to your partner.

Telephone Etiquette

 

 

Greetings

 

 

Getting to the point

 

 

Listening

 

 

Threatening

 

If you don't replace the product, I'll complain to the manager.

 

If you can't deliver on time, we'll have to contact other suppliers.

 

Promising action

 

OK, I'll look into it right away.

 

I'll check the details and get back to you.

 

 

Revision

 

1. There are three mixed up telephone calls. Sort them out and rewrite them:

This is Sara speaking.

I’m sorry, but you have the wrong number.

No. She went out for lunch. Can I take a message? No, it’s 736-3224.

Hello. Is Jenny there please? Hello. Is Sara there please? Hi is Kevin there please.

Hi. Sara. My name is John I’m calling about the ad in the newspaper. She just stepped out.

Is this 736 –2334?

Yes, tell her to call Dave please. Will she be back soon?

Unit 2. PRESENTING

 

Starting Presentations

 

 

Public introductions game

 

Take a note card, and write on it three interesting things about you that nobody could guess.

 

The cards will then be mixed and every student will select one of them. Your goal will be to walk around, talk to people, ask questions and find the person whose card you got.

 

Interview that person to get a better picture of the facts. Answer their questions about your card. You will soon be introducing one another to the rest of the team!

 

When you interview a person follow the logical sequence: Who? What? Where? When? How? Why?

 

Write a paragraph about the person:

 

· Begin it with a thesis statement;

 

· Introduce your friend in one short sentence;

 

· Formulate a nice greeting;

 

· Turn your thesis statement into three sentences about your friend, focusing on action, sequence, facts;

 

· Make Things Orderly;

 

· Connect the three facts together in some way;

 

· Make it very short: state the fact, add one more sentence expanding;

 

· Offer a few good wishes.

 

Then the next student takes the floor.

 

To deliver.

 

Principles & Types of Speech Communication

 

Whether you are planning to propose a new business plan, lead an informative workshop or speak at a special event, you face the challenge of effective speech communication. Navigating this challenge involves understanding the common types and basic principles of presentations you can give.

 

Informative Presentations

 

Informative presentations are one of the most common types of speech communication. This type of presentation can take many forms, such as reviewing sales figures at a company meeting, leading a training session for a new device, and discussing the history of an organization. Regardless of the situation, an informative presentation always communicates information and ideas to an audience and helps shape the audience's perceptions of the subject. These types of presentations are often organized topically, as a sequence of related subtopics of the overall subject, or chronologically, as a sequence of time-related events. Depending on the topic, informative presentations can also be organized as a demonstration that shows how something occurs or works, or as an explanation that considers patterns of cause and effect or comparison and contrast. When preparing for an informative presentation, one of your most important considerations is how you can best organize your message so your audience will find it engaging and accessible.

 

Persuasive Presentations

 

With a persuasive presentation, your primary purpose is to persuade your audience to believe or act in a particular way. You may want to reinforce or refute beliefs or values of your audience. You may desire to change opinions and spur action. Persuasive presentations can take many forms, such as a sales presentation, business proposal or motivational meeting. Show consideration for your audience's perspective, offer compelling support for your ideas and bridge the distance between the two points of view. Communicate your trustworthiness and competence to the audience.

 

Other Presentations

 

You may encounter a number of special occasions that call for the practice of effective speech communication. For example, you may be asked to give a formal introduction of a guest speaker at an event, to present an honor or award to a co-worker, or to speak at a celebration, retirement, or memorial for another individual. These presentations sometimes require impromptu speaking and sometimes allow for preparation.

 

Basic Principles

 

The basic principles of speech communication remain the same, whether your purpose is to inform or to persuade, or even to speak at a special occasion. To communicate effectively with your audience, you will need to develop your subject in understandable and accessible ways, to navigate the differences between your audience's perspective and your own, and to deliver your message with a dynamic presence, engaging language and effective visual aids.

 

Common Problems

 

A few common pitfalls can occur with speech communication, including too little or too much information, lack of consideration of the audience's point of view, inadequate development of material or ideas, cultural barriers between the speaker and the audience, and poor anxiety management. Take the time to consider and address these problems prior to your presentation to help ensure effective audience engagement and delivery of your message.

 

 

Introducing yourself

Introducing the topic

 

 

Giving a plan of your talk

 

Inviting questions

 

Involving the Audience

 

 

Free topic presenting game

 

Choose any object, phenomenon, idea, problem or maybe your own hobby or favourite activity to be the topic of your presentation. The point is to make youraudience interested! So, use of the following advice.

 

Analyse your audience:

 

— How do they feel about your topic?

 

— Are they informed? What do they need to know? What do they expect?

 

— What do they know about you?

 

— Are they here by choice or requirement?

 

— What is their mood?

 

— Are there any obstacles?

 

Decide what you want your audience to do: Understand? Learn? Take action? Participate?

 

Design the content of your presentation:

 

— What you are going to speak about – a) key messages; b) facts to support; c) involve your audience

— Make no more than 3 points

 

— Opening and conclusion

 

In the opening section state the purpose of your presentation, say why it’s important to you, what the main points are.

 

In the closing section repeat the messages, reiterate the opening, summarize, recommend action, close.

 

Follow the KISS principle – keep it short and simple, try to sound idiomatic. Your time-limit is 7 minutes. Then the next student takes the floor.

 

Analyse Your Audience

 

Put yourself in the audience's shoes – try to understand your listener's level of understanding, their map of reality, and anticipate what they want to know. Once you know what your audience wants, you can figure out how to "sell" the benefits of your topic to them.

 

Do Your Homework

 

Research your topic – speak about something you have earned the right to talk about through experience or study. Anticipate questions, and make sure you have the facts to answer them.

 

"Develop reserve power", advised Dale Carnegie, "assemble a hundred thoughts

 

around your theme, then discard ninety... Always prepare so that you are ready for any emergency such as a change of emphasis because of the previous speaker's remarks or a well-aimed question from the audience in the discussion period following your talk... This will give you reserve power, the power that makes people sit up and take notice."

 

Seize every opportunity to practice – no professional in any field performs without practicing. Remember, your time in front of a group is your showcase.

 

How to Present with Passion

 

No matter what you are, we are all in sales. Selling is a transfer of emotions. When you speak, do your listeners sense how strongly you believe in what you're saying? If you want people to give you their undivided attention and feel compelled to heed your advice, they must hear and see in you an unwavering commitment to your message.

Manage Expectations

 

Communication is a two-way street. Before you begin your presentation, be sure your participants know what to expect. They will arrive with some preconceived ideas. Your advance communication about your presentation needs to be clear to set the perceptions right so there is no confusion or disappointment.

 

Introducing yourself

Introducing the topic

 

 

Giving a plan of your talk

Inviting questions

 

Ending

 

Read the text of a presentation, define its style, think who the audience might be. What is the purpose of the presentation? What techniques does the presenter use? Fill in the chart in 2.2.5. with the expressions from the text.

 

TETSUO Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Tetsuo Endo; I

 

represent the Mikan Electronics Corporation and I am going to talk to you

 

for a few minutes about my company's products – in particular, about our

 

post office weighing machines.

 

I came to Britain for the first time a few months ago and of course I

 

was very interested to see how people hero live, I had heard lots of

 

stories, but this was my first opportunity to see for myself. The British are

 

well known in other countries for standing in line – for queuing. Ah, you

 

know that? I discovered this was true when I waited for a bus, when I

 

entered a bank to cash a cheque, and when I sent a parcel to my mother in

 

Tokyo. And I discovered it again this morning when we had to queue on

 

the motorway to cross the Severn Bridge. The reason that you are so good at queuing is that you have so much practice. Now, Mikan Electronics is going to change that, because one place where you won't have to queue for nearly as long in future as you have done in the past is a British post office. That is, if you adopt our Eagle range of electronic postal weighing machines.

 

Tetsuo shows a series of slides demonstrating what happens in a post office with conventional weighing machines.

 

 

Then he shows another series of pictures demonstrating the new weighing machine.

 

 

TETSUO Of course we don't claim that this is new technology. On the contrary

 

– this is technology that has been developed and tested over a long period

 

in supermarkets everywhere. We are all familiar with it at the supermarket

 

check-out, so why not at the post office counter also?

 

The benefits of our Eagle weighing machine are not limited to the

 

rapid printing of postage labels. Changes in postal rates can quickly be

 

programmed into the machine. The machine is so sensitive that it can

 

weigh a single gram, so the post office clerk doesn't need a special

 

balance any more for weighing air letters. And it is easily modified to

 

accept any credit or debit card. The clerk swipes the card through the

 

 

First, the clerk puts the parcel on the weighing machine…

machine and the customer's account is automatically debited. In the future that could mean less cash passing across the counter – less incentive for the criminal to threaten the clerk with a gun. So, with one machine we eliminate two kinds of post office hold-up!

 

 

Understanding Your Audience

 

1) Who are they and what is their relationship to your topic?

 

THEREFORE, I MUST _________________________________________________

 

2) How well informed are they about the subject? What do they need to know about it? THEREFORE, I MUST _________________________________________________

 

3) What do they expect from the event? From your presentation?

 

THEREFORE, I MUST _________________________________________________

 

4) Are they accustomed to a certain type of presentation?

 

THEREFORE, I MUST _________________________________________________

 

5) What do they know about you? What more do they need to know? How do they feel about you?

 

THEREFORE, I MUST_________________________________________________

 

6) Why are they present? Are they there by choice or by requirement? THEREFORE, I MUST_________________________________________________

 

7) Are they likely to be enthusiastic? Polite? Apathetic? Hostile?

 

THEREFORE, I MUST_________________________________________________

 

8) Are there any other obstacles, history, or expectations that you need to take into account?

 

THEREFORE, I MUST_________________________________________________

 

Designing Your Opening

 

1) Define the purpose of the presentation.

 

2) Establish your credibility. Ask yourself "Which of my credentials will impress this particular audience?" and emphasize those. Or, if appropriate, have another person with authority or credibility introduce your presentation.

 

3) Describe the importance of the topic for the audience: What’s in it for them?

 

 

4) Preview the main points to be covered.

 

Designing a Good Close

 

1) Reiterate the presentation’s key messages.

 

2) Integrate your opening points into your closing comments.

 

3) Summarize your key points.

 

4) Recommend action; or suggest agreement; or obtain commitment or buy-in.

 

5) Provide closure.

 

 

Revision

 

 

1. Comment on the following statements. In your opinion are they:

 

a) essential b) helpful c) unhelpful for a successful presentation?

 

1. Tell a joke at the beginning to relax the atmosphere.

 

2. Speak more slowly than you normally do.

 

3. Smile a lot.

 

4. Involve the audience.

 

5. Invite questions during the presentation.

 

6. Always keep to your plan.

 

7. Move around during your presentation.

 

8. Use gestures to emphasise important points.

 

9. Read out your presentation from a script.

 

10. Stand up when giving your presentation.

 

Unit 3. MEETINGS

 

The Language of Meetings

 

 

Invitations game.

 

Work in small groups. Try to develop the following "basic dialogues" into more socially appropriate ones.

 

1) There is a corporate party on Friday night, you must be present. I can’t come.

 

2) There is a corporate party on Friday night, you may come.

 

I want to be there.

 

Using

 

Would is often added to make any statement more tentative. It takes away the

 

dogmatic tone of many statements.

 

That is unacceptable. – That be unacceptable.

 

That does not meet our requirements. – That not meet our requirements.

 

We need further reassurance. – We need further reassurance

 

Questions

 

Often suggestions are presented in question form:

 

That is too late. — Is that too late?

 

That would be too late. — Would that be too late?

 

Adding to suggestions

 

The examples above all sound more tentative and negotiable if they are

 

grammatically negative:

 

Isn't that too late? Wouldn't that be too late?

 

Introductory phrases

 

Often we introduce our reaction with a word or phrase which tells the listener

 

what kind of comment we are going to make. In particular some phrases warn the listener that disagreement follows. Here are the most common introductory phrases. Which ones are warnings?

 

Actually, With respect,	In those circumstances,
Well,	To be honest,	In fact,
Frankly,	As a matter of fact, To put it bluntly,

 

I'

 

The most common phrase in spoken English to show that the speaker recognises that his/her reaction is in some way unhelpful or unwelcome is I'm afraid. It may warn of disagreement, but its general meaning is wider and indicates the speaker sees his/her reaction as unavoidably unhelpful:

 

Could I speak to Jack please? – I'm afraid he's out of the country at the moment. Would next Tuesday be convenient? – I'm afraid I'm tied up all day.

Qualifiers

 

Successful meetings often depend on avoiding direct disagreement. The more general the statement, the more likely it is to produce disagreement. Not surprisingly, therefore, good negotiators often restrict general statements by using qualifiers. Here are some of the most common qualifiers in English:

 

a slight misunderstanding a short delay

 

 

a little bit too early some reservations

a bit of a problem a little more time

 

N + + positive adjective

 

Often English avoids negative adjectives, preferring not + positive equivalent:

 

The hotel was dirty. — The hotel wasn't very clean. The food was cold. — The food was not very hot.

 

This feature is not only true with an adjective construction. Notice these examples:

I disagree completely. – I don't agree at all.

 

I dislike that idea. – I don't like that idea at all.

 

I reject what you say. – I don't accept what you say.

 

Comparatives

 

In offering an alternative suggestion, the comparative is often used:

 

Wouldn't the 31st be more convenient? It might be cheaper to go by air.

 

The implication is that the other person's suggestion is acceptable, but yours is more acceptable. For this reason the use of the comparative is more tactful.

 

Sometimes comparative phrases, not including adjectives, are used. You will need them in these examples:

NGOs provide funds for projects like this.

 

The Belgian plant has capacity in the short term. Research is needed before we make a decision.

 

Continuous forms

 

In English, the simple past is used if the speaker sees the event as a single whole, while the past continuous is used if the speaker sees the event "stretched out" in time. For this reason the continuous form of the verb is more flexible, because the event can be "interrupted", while the simple past is more often used to express facts or events seen as finished and complete.

I tried to ring you yesterday. – I was trying to ring you yesterday.

 

We intended to make new arrangements for next year. – We were intending to

 

 

make new arrangements for next year.

 

I wondered if you'd come to a decision yet. – I was wondering if you'd come to a decision yet.

 

We hoped you'd accept 8%. – We were hoping you'd accept 8%.

 

We discussed the problem yesterday. – We were discussing the problem yesterday.

Notice, in every case the simple past gives the impression that the speaker means "this is what I/we did before we started our present discussion"; it gives the impression that the person s/he is speaking to is excluded.

 

In contrast, the continuous form, used with verbs like hope, discuss etc., gives the impression of including the other partner in the discussion. For this reason continuous forms seem more friendly and open, and are often appropriate if you are trying to engage the other person in an open negotiation.

 

Stressed words

 

Grammar and vocabulary are, of course, important in getting your meaning across. Less obviously, but equally importantly, the words which you give special

 

stress to can change the meaning of what you say.

 

It's rather a	house.
It's	a large house.

 

The most important use of this kind is the word quite. If quite is stressed, it is a

 

qualification (	interested, but not	), but if the following adjective is stressed,
quite means very (quite	).

 

Remember, native speakers often use quite instead of very, but if it has the meaning of very, it is the word following quite which receives the heavy stress.

 

Stressed auxiliaries

 

Many English verb forms which look the same on paper, have two different forms in speech. In one case, the auxiliary verb, or part of the verb (be) is stressed, and in the other case this word is unstressed. The two sentences do not mean the same thing. Usually parts of (be) in auxiliary verbs in English are unstressed. Sometimes, there is a special way of writing these unstressed forms:

 

I've sent you the details already. It's four o'clock.

 

In every case, however, it is possible to give a heavy stress to the normally unstressed part of (be) or the auxiliary. If you do this, it shows special emotion is attached to what you say. It can be used to correct the other person:

 

I thought you were Belgian. – I Belgian.

 

Or to give special emotion to what you say. Different emotions are possible — annoyance or surprise, for example. If you are listening to native speakers, however, it is important that you recognise the emotional force behind what they are saying.

 

Collocations

 

As well as vocabulary, grammar, and stress, there is another important way in which you can improve your control of the language of meetings. Certain words often occur together — a short term solution, a high priority. There are a very large number of these collocations (groups of words which often occur together) which are used in the language of meetings.

 

 

Put in the following.

 

1. That is too late.

 

2. I prefer to meet before that.

 

3. We expect them to accept our proposals.

 

4. We hope to be able to complete before the end of the year.

 

5. Flying has definite advantages.

 

6. I'm not able to give a guarantee at this stage.

 

7. Finance is no problem.

 

8. I don't agree.

 

9. I'm afraid I don't accept that.

 

Using the negative form.

 

1. Flying would have advantages.

 

2. Friday would be convenient.

 

3. We would need another meeting fairly soon.

 

4. We could ask the UN to finance the project.

 

5. It would be a good idea to involve the French.

 

6. We could cancel.

 

7. We've got to increase our offer.

 

8. They can raise some of the finance themselves.

 

3.1.7. Reply to these naturally but using I'.

 

1. Can we meet again later this week?

 

2. Couldn't we ask the IMF to fund us?

 

3. Wouldn't it be a good idea to involve the Americans?

 

4. Could you guarantee delivery by late September?

 

5. Do you know the Chairman personally?

 

6. Have you got last year's figures yet?

 

7. Where's the report?

 

8. I thought you were going to bring the details today?

 

3.1.8. Add qualifiers to these.

 

1. That would leave me with a problem.

 

2. I have doubts about that.

 

3. We need more time.

 

4. We have production difficulties.

 

5. We have had a disagreement with our German colleagues.

 

6. We need changes before I can give the proposal my unqualified support.

 

3.1.9. Make these more polite using + +positive adjective.

 

1. That's inconvenient.

 

2. That's unsuitable.

 

3. That's a stupid suggestion.

 

4. This year's figures are bad.

 

5. That's a negative way of looking at the problem.

 

6. That proposal is insensitive to local conditions.

 

7. That suggestion is impractical.

 

8. That was an unhelpful remark.

 

9. That's a destructive approach.

 

10. That's a useless line of argument.

 

11. I'm unhappy with that idea.

 

 

Make collocations using a word from the column on the left with one from the column on the right. There is only one way that you can make all five collocations correctly. Then fit each collocation into one of the sentences which follow.

a vested	step	a)
a foregone	point	b)
a disastrous	interest	c)
a stop-gap	conclusion	d)
a debatable	solution	e)

1. It was a _________________________: everybody knew he'd get the job.

 

2. That's a ________________________. One should consider both sides of the problem and I can see merit in both of them.

 

3. As a _______________________ I'm in favour, but we mustn't forget that we still need to find something more permanent.

 

4. We have a ________________________ in John's election, because if Henry is elected, we'll never get promoted.

5. Leaving the organization would be a _________________________ as far as his career is concerned.

 

 

Work in small groups. Look at the following 'basic dialogues'. Using some of the language features discussed in this unit try to write the dialogue in the way which is more suitable for the language of meetings.

1. My price is fair. I agree.

2. That is acceptable if you promise to deliver by the end of August. Impossible! But we promise the end of September.

 

3. We hope you'll allow us 10% margin.

 

We can't. We expected you to suggest 5%.

 

4. What's the maximum you'll offer? What's the minimum you'll accept? Be more helpful!

Be more helpful yourself!

 

 

3.2. Discussions: Opinions & Suggestions

 

 

Opinions game.

Think of a one or two word subject of your own, write that subject on a small

 

piece of paper and give it to your teacher. The teacher will then mix up your papers and give one to each student. You will have to express your opinion on this subject. You have one minute to prepare your talk: formulate a key message, illustrate it with a fact, give a recommendation. Then you will form groups of two or three and give a talk to your partners, they will give a short reaction. When you’ve finished, change roles.

 

Proposals

 

Giving opinions

 

3.2.7. In the conversation above the management committee choose their words carefully to express disagreement in a polite way. Read it and find the words or phrases that show you the following:

 

1. I don't believe what you have just said is correct.

 

2. Don't you remember that we all said we wouldn't spend more money than we had planned?

 

3. We can't allow the factory to make fewer goods than we planned for.

 

4. Perhaps we should treat this as a special case.

 

5. It's not as special as you say it is.

 

6. We shall lose money if we aren't ready for an increase in orders.

 

In this conversation a human resource manager and two colleagues are discussing ways of improving the staff’s health and fitness. Arrange the phrases in the correct order. Say who is chairing the meeting.

TANYA	a)	Mm, I don't think I like the idea very much. It wouldn't be good
		for morale. A lot of our staff smoke – they'd be against it, I'm sure
		of that. I think we should improve the food. A lot of the dishes
		aren't healthy – there's far too much fatty food, not enough fish,
		fruit and vegetables.
	b)	Mm, I don't know. It sounds interesting, but it could be very
		expensive. A group fee for all our staff would probably cost a
		fortune.
	c)	Yes, it's worth checking out, I suppose. A lot of staff might enjoy
		having a swim at lunchtime or after work. And a sauna is very
		relaxing, I must admit.
VINCENT	d)	I think we should do a lot more to improve our staff's health and
		fitness. What do you think, Monica?
	e)	Right. That's a good idea. A lot of firms do that. And how about
		having a no-smoking policy in the staff restaurant? What do you
		think about that, Tanya?

f) True. We could change the menus and offer healthier meals. I like that idea.

 

g) I don't know, Monica. It'd be very expensive to set up a service like that. Anyway, we have a company doctor. That's her job, isn't it? I've got another suggestion. We could talk to the manager of our local sports centre and arrange a company membership. What do you think, Tanya?

 

h) What's your opinion, Monica?

 

i) I can't agree with you there. It's got a very good pool and sauna. If we could negotiate a low membership fee, it might be worth considering, surely.