Analyse the conversation in 3.3.6. and answer the following questions.

 

1. Does Alan agree with Arturo’s assessment of the company performance?

 

2. Is Nigel friendly or hostile to Vikki? What about Alan?

 

3. Why does Ida protest?

 

4. Does Ida think that 20% is high or low? What about Vikki?

 

5. What party game do you observe in the conversation?

 

6. Why does Ida ask her question about ‘no confidence’?

 

7. Why, at the end, is Ida so angry?

 

3.3.8. Find in 3.3.6. the words or phrases that show you the following:

 

1. Giving the floor.

 

2. Clarifying / asking for repetition.

 

3. Keeping order.

 

4. Interrupting.

 

5. Resisting interruptions.

 

6. Expressing opposition.

 

7. Irony and sarcasm.

 

Work in groups of up to five people to role-play the following situation (see cards for students A, B, C, D, E in the Attachment). Read your role card, then hold the meeting. At the end, the chairperson should summarise your decisions. Use advice given in the text and expressions from the lesson and the additional vocabulary below.

 

Freestyle has developed a new tennis racket called Worldbeater. It is light but gives players increased power and control. It will be launched in the US. The Marketing Department holds a meeting to discuss a strategy.

 

Work in groups of up to five people, choose who will lead the discussion. Fill in your solutions into the Work Sheet (see Attachment). Use advice given in the text, expressions from the lesson and the additional vocabulary below.

 

You are the management staff of a large resort hotel. Lately, you have had a lot of problems. You must discuss these problems with the other managers and then come up with solutions.

 

The hotel is on an island surrounded by beautiful beaches, coral reefs, and mountains. It seems like the perfect place to have a hotel but…

 

Problems

 

Theft: There is a lot of theft at the hotel. Someone is stealing food from the kitchen,money from front desk, and sports equipment from the gym. Guests have also complained that somebody stole their wallets.

 

Guests are bored: Guests have complained that there is nothing to do. There are noactivities at night. In the day, there are few sports and nothing to see.

 

Complaints about the food: The guests have complained that the food tastesterrible. They also complained that the food is the same every night. Some vegetarians were very angry because every dinner has meat.

 

There are few guests: Very few people know about the hotel. And the guests who docome say it is too expensive.

 

Complaints about the staff: Many guests say that the staff is rude and unhelpful.The staff members argue with each other. Sometimes they swear at the managers.

 

Many things are broken: The roof leaks and many TVs in the rooms don’t work.Sometimes there is no electricity or hot water.

 

The hotel is difficult to get to: There are no buses coming from the airport to thehotel. The taxi from the airport to the hotel is very expensive.

 

 

Opening	Good morning/afternoon, everyone.
	If we are all here, let's get started / start the meeting / start.

Welcoming and	Please join me in welcoming (name of participant)
introducing	We're pleased to welcome (name of participant)
	I'd like to extend a warm welcome to (name of participant)
	It's a pleasure to welcome (name of participant)
	I'd like to introduce (name of participant)
Stating the principal	We're here today to...
objectives	I'd like to make sure that we...
	Our main aim today is to...
	I've called this meeting in order to...
Giving apologies for	I'm afraid.., (name of participant) can't be with us today, she
someone who is absent	is in...
	Unfortunately, (name of participant)... will not be with us
	today because he...
	I have received apologies for absence from (name of
	participant), who is in (place).
Reading the minutes	To begin with I'd like to quickly go through the minutes of
(notes) of the last	our last meeting.
meeting	First, let's go over the report from the last meeting, which
	was held on (date)
	Here are the minutes from our last meeting, which was on
	(date)
Dealing with recent	Jack, can you tell us how the XYZ project is progressing?
developments	Jack, how is the XYZ project coming along?
	John, have you completed the report on the new accounting
	package?
	Has everyone received a copy of the Tate Foundation report
	on current marketing trends?
Moving forward	So, if there is nothing else we need to discuss, let's move on
	to today's agenda.
	Shall we get down to business?

	Is there any other business?
	If there are no further developments, I'd like to move on to
	today's topic.
Introducing the	Have you all received a copy of the agenda?
Agenda	There are X items on the agenda. First,... second,... third,...
	lastly,...
	Shall we take the points in this order?
	If you don't mind, I'd like to go in order today.
	Skip item 1 and move on to item 3
	I suggest we take item 2 last.
Allocating roles	(name of participant) has agreed to take the minutes.
(secretary,	(name of participant), would you mind taking the minutes?
participants)	(name of participant) has kindly agreed to give us a report
	on...
	(name of participant) will lead point 1, (name of participant)
	point 2, and (name of participant) point 3.
	(name of participant), would you mind taking notes today?
Agreeing on the	We will first hear a short report on each point first, followed
ground rules for the	by a discussion of...
meeting	I suggest we go round the table first.
(contributions,	Let's make sure we finish by...
timing, decision-	I'd suggest we...
making, etc.)	There will be five minutes for each item.
	We'll have to keep each item to 15 minutes. Otherwise we'll
	never get through.
Introducing the first	So, let's start with...
item on the agenda	I'd suggest we start with...
	Why don't we start with...
	So, the first item on the agenda is…
	Pete, would you like to kick off?

	Shall we start with...
	(name of participant), would you like to introduce this item?
Closing an item	I think that takes care of the first item.
	Shall we leave that item?
	Why don't we move on to...
	If nobody has anything else to add, lets...
Next item	Let's move onto the next item
	Now that we've discussed X, let's now...
	The next item on today's agenda is...
	Now we come to the question of…
Giving control to the	I'd like to hand over to (name of participant), who is going
next participant	to lead the next point.
	Next, (name of participant) is going to take us through...
	Now, I'd like to introduce (name of participant) who is going
	to...
Summarizing	Before we close today's meeting, let me just summarize the
	main points.
	Let me quickly go over today's main points.
	To sum up,...
	OK, why don't we quickly summarize what we've done
	today.
	In brief,...
	Shall I go over the main points?
Finishing Up	Right, it looks as though we've covered the main items.
	If there are no other comments, I'd like to wrap this meeting
	up.
	Let's bring this to a close for today.
	Is there Any Other Business?
Suggesting and	Can we set the date for the next meeting, please?
agreeing on time,	So, the next meeting will be on... (day), the … (date) of …

date and place for	(month) at...
the next meeting	Let's next meet on... (day), the… (date) of… (month) at…
	What about the following Wednesday? How is that?
Thanking	I'd like to thank Marianne and Jeremy for coming over from
participants for	London.
attending	Thank you all for attending.
	Thanks for your participation.
Closing the meeting	The meeting is finished, we'll see each other next...
	The meeting is closed.
	I declare the meeting closed.

 

Revision

 

1. Transform these ideas into socially appropriate messages:

1. I don't want to meet as early as that.

 

2. If you do that you'll leave me in a mess with my Personnel Manager.

 

3. I can't accept such a tight schedule.

 

4. How could you possibly think that's what I meant!